Of Bullets and Mercury
by Leonahari
Summary: When Winry is kidnapped by Envy to become Dante's next body, will Edward be in time to save her or will another decide to play the hero? A little of Winry/Ed and Envy/Lust, but overall Envy/Winry. Warning: Spoilers and Envy...that's all you need to know.
1. What Was Left Unspoken

**Of Bullets and Mercury**

**Summary: **When Winry decideds to follow her own lead on the Maes Hughes case, she gets caught by Envy and brought to Dante. But the seven sins are feeling not too generous towards their master and Envy starts to realize there's more to life than taking orders.

**Leonahari does not** own FMA, though I would like to receive Envy as a birthday gift wrapped up in a pretty green bow…

* * *

**Chapter 1: What Was Left Unspoken**

Ironic. That was the story of her life so far. The day Winry received news of her parents' death the sun had been shinning through the windows of the Rockbell household like cheerful rays of hope. She would never forget the pain she suffered that day when she held the tear sodden letter tightly in her palm and realized that her mother's arms would never hold her again. Nor would her father's shinning smile ever greet her when she returned home from a day at the Elrics. Ironic as the two boys in question, Edward and Alphonse, rushed into the kitchen with gleeful smiles over their alchemic accomplishments.

Winry remembers watching the dust float through the sunlight and the Elric brothers storming excitedly into the house. She remembers both of those things so clearly. What she couldn't recall were the exact words in the letter and amount of time it took her to get over them.

It was then that Winry realized that life had to go on after that tragic moment. In some small way, Winry learnt the same lesson the Elric brothers learnt, and she didn't even have to spend a month on a deserted island to understand it.

She never told them though. Never said what was left unspoken, because in the back of her mind she knew she had not yet healed completely. The world may have moved on the same, but Winry had changed forever.

* * *

415 years earlier….

He had been told by the doctor his son was dying. When the doctor told Hohenheim Elric that the cause was mercury poisoning, a pit of guilt swelled in his stomach.

William had been in his laboratory again. When Hohenheim caught him down there flipping through manuals and alchemy books, he knocked over a phial containing mercury.

The doctor said William was incurable, but Hohenheim was going to try.

When William died, Hohenheim brought his body down into his laboratory and attempted to perform a human transmutation. The result was a mangled bloody mess. Hohenheim could not look at the thing he had created. His son was dead in his mind. A part of him had expected the result to be like that, but he had had to try. The thing was breathing, but he knew it would die soon. There was no hope for it to survive.

When Hohenheim turned his back on Envy, he failed to realize it had been the mistake of his life.

* * *

Present….

"Where are you going?" Winry snapped, placing a hand on her hip. Sciezka stood behind her looking out at the two escaping alchemists, one a short blonde and the other a large suit of armor.

"Don't worry about us, Winry," Edward yelled as he rushed out the door.

"We're going to the library. Be back soon!" Al added after his brother.

Winry sighed and let her hand fall to her side. Sciezka looked exhausted from all the reading. She pushed her glasses a bit further up her nose. "They sure ran off in a hurry. What do you think they needed to find out?"

"Beats me," Winry replied, "Is the library even open at a time like this?"

Both pairs of eyes turned to a clock on the wall in Sciezka's book-crowded living room.

"Good question."

The four of them had been going through military file after military file in search of something that would led them to the same conclusion that got Maes Hughes killed months before. Sciezka and Winry had been on their own investigation before Ed and Al were told of the unfortunate news. Winry, however, didn't want Edward getting himself wrapped up in all that was going on at military headquarters concerning Maes. She knew he and Al still pursued the philosopher stone and as long as they did she believed that they already had too much to deal with. So, she decided to take things into her own hands.

Winry and Sceizka had already been investigating the strange reappearance of the officer named Julia Douglas, and even after Sceizka's crazed theory of her being an alien Winry had an idea of her own. It was something she hadn't shared with anyone, not even Edward. But she could not deny seeing the face of Trisha Elric when that monster had attacked them in the crawlspace. She would never have admitted it, but she remembered exactly what Edward had told her that day when she received the news her parents had died.

Homunculus.

Winry remembered Edwards explanation word for word, and she was certain that was the answer. The only question now was whether Edward knew?

"Sceizka, I'm going to follow Ed and Al to the library," Winry announced, eyes narrowing down at the title of an old alchemy book. Truth was she wanted to read about the topic in question in private. Homunculi are the result of a taboo after all, and she didn't want to jump to any quick conclusions.

"What?" Sceizka shuddered, "With everything that's been happening lately, you're going to leave me? And it's dark out there, you can't go wandering around! What if the…." She leaned in closer, eyes wide with fear and anxiety, "_aliens_ get you?"

Winry couldn't help but smile at her friend. Sometimes Sceizka was a little over the top. "Don't get so worked up. Remember, that's just a theory," Winry replied, calmly, pushing Sceizka away from her, "And besides, if anything does attack me in the dark –," She gave a dark little smirk and held up her mechanical tools with an evil glint in her eyes, "Nobodies going to mess with me and walk away in one piece."

Sceizka shivered again but this time it wasn't from the aliens.

As Winry walked down the lonely street near Central's headquarters, her eyes kept darting from one dark ally to the next. She knew she was in no real danger. She was practically in the militaries back yard, and because she was a best friend of one of their most prized alchemists she was confident nobody would mess with her.

However, that didn't seem to enable her to shake the feeling of anxiety she was feeling as she strode slowly through the dark empty street towards the library. A streetlamp over her head flickered and died, making her start. She sighed and continued walking. She could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks at her foolishness.

_This is stupid! Get a grip, Winry! _

However, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She spun around holding a sharp screwdriver tightly in her fist. She was most definitely being watched, she was sure of it. She felt a little stupid for acting like this in the middle of an empty street, but she just couldn't shake the feeling from her mind. Her muscles tensed up and her eyes seemed to dilate as she scanned her surroundings. She had rooted her feet and she wouldn't move until she was sure nobody was there.

* * *

The silver moonlight made Envy's body look paler than usual. It was summer but the breeze was cooler than it had been in days. Not enough to cause the homunculus to shiver, but cold enough make him irritable and impatient. He sat crouched on the roof edge of an old apartment building in Central looking down at the deserted street below. He had been instructed by his master to do something important for her.

At first he had been thrilled with the idea of possibly getting his hands on Edward and teaching him what pain really was, but Dante, his master, had quickly shoved that idea from his mind.

"You will get your chance soon enough, but first I want you to do something for me," she had told him before explaining his mission. It sounded stupid to him. There had been so many chances for him where he could have crushed that bastard's son. Why was he being forced to wait?

Envy hated Dante for that. He was well aware of how she worked. She would find a homunculus, feed them red stones and raise them to have them believe she was the only thing out there for them. If an homunculi tried to be free, like Greed had done, Dante would only send her most loyal pawn out to destroy him. Either that, or the need for nourishment of the red stones would send them crawling back. Once they were back, she would keep them loyal to her by holding what they wanted just out of reach, promising them that one day they would receive it, depending on their performance.

Envy wanted two things. Dante only knew of one. He wanted to kill that bastard Hohenheim or his prodigy son, and secondly he wanted to see Dante on her knees before him begging for mercy. Oh, how he would love dearly to see her bleed and watch her writhe in pain. Envy had suffered for well over four hundred years with her kind of torture and he wondered when the tides of fate would turn the table. He definitely longed for that day.

"H-hello?"

Envy had been so deeply in thought he hadn't noticed the blonde little woman in the center of the street below him. He recognized her immediately as Edwards good friend. His lips curved into a wide toothy sneer, a look that would make a psycho maniac run for his life. Luckily, the girl couldn't see him high above her. She was spinning and gazing about wildly as if she knew Envy was watching her.

This was the chance Envy had been waiting for. His masters orders had been vague on who exactly she wanted him to pick for her. What was her name again? Winry? She would be perfect. She even already had an established connection with Edward that would make Dante's job a lot easier. Envy's sneer widened as he basked momentarily in his own mental applause.

* * *

Something made a sound in an ally way nearby and Winry spun to face it. Her hands shook. Her mind was telling her body to move, but she stood rigidly on the spot.

"Is someone there?" she breathed, "Show yourself if you're there!"

Silence answered her and she stood staring into the darkness. Another streetlamp flickered to death and caused her to jump.

"Winry?" called a familiar voice.

Winry breathed a sigh of deep relief as Edward ran out from the ally way. "Ed?" Winry dropped her hands to her sides, her mechanical tools sticking out between her fingers like knives. She couldn't help but laugh out loud at herself.

"You okay?" Ed asked confused, "You seem…odd."

"Oh, Ed, I'm just glad it's you," Winry smirked. She could have hugged him.

"Why? You afraid of the dark or something?" Ed mocked. Winry glared at him, "I'm not! It's just, just…it's nothing, Ed. Don't worry about it."

Then she noticed something. "Hey, wasn't Alphonse with you?"

"Al's waiting for me," Ed replied, "Winry, we found something that I think you might be interested in. I was on my way back to get you and bring you there."

"Really, Ed?" Winry smiled, "You really wanted to show me something?"

"Yeah."

Winry almost hugged him. Finally, after so many years of trying to convince those two, they were confiding in her. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe after she showed an interest in the case on Maes Hughes Edward and Alphonse decided that she was useful after all and could help them with a few things. Well it was about time!

"Okay, Ed, what did you need to show me?" Winry said. Ed turned on his heel and she followed him down the street in the opposite direction of where she had been headed.

"By the way, Winry, what were you doing out here?" Ed asked.

"I was headed to the library," Winry said, and then she remembered her reason for wanting to go. She hesitated. Would it be wise to share her idea with Edward? Well, he did know a lot about alchemy. It could save her a lot of research time, but she didn't want Ed just running off and taking her theory too seriously. Knowing Ed, he always jumped to conclusions. "Ed, if I ask you a question you have to promise me you won't blow it out of proportion."

Ed shot her a sideways glance. "Sure, Winry. What do you want to ask me?"

Winry dropped her eyes to the ground. How was she going to word this one? "What do you know about homunculus?"

Edward tripped in step, but recovered from it faster than Winry had ever seen him move before. She was a little taken aback, but Ed only grinned at her and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oops," he laughed, "Stupid rock."

Then, his expression grew serious. "Why do you want to know about that?" he asked.

"Oh, just curious," Winry lied. She knew she was a terrible liar, but she didn't want Edward to know the truth.

"I don't want to talk about that right now in the open," Ed said after a moment of silence, "I'll tell you later in private, okay?"

Winry nodded. It was better than nothing. At least she had a promise of an explanation.

They reached an old church on the edge of Central. It looked like it hadn't been used in a while. The stained windows were all smashed. The lime between the bricks was rotting away. Parts of the wall had crumbled into a heaping mass of stone and dirt. Why Edward wanted to bring Winry here, she had no idea.

They entered and the inside looked just as bad as the outside did. It smelt too of rotted wood and mildew. The pews were smashed and splintering, but the center isle was clear. Winry noted footsteps leading to and from the podium, where a small hole or doorway had been opened. She shivered as they neared it and Edward climbed through it and motioned for Winry to follow him.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Winry asked him. Stupid question, she thought. If it was safe, Edward wouldn't be interested so much in it.

She followed Edward down a long dark staircase until they reached a stone platform. When she stepped out into the large open space it looked as if she was standing on the edge of some forgotten city. She gaped in wonder at the sight before her. A whole city the size of Central, deserted and crumbling, underground. In the center stood a massive building, she assumed to be a mansion or city hall of some sort.

Edward pointed at it. "Al's there," he said.

"Ed, what happened here?"

"We don't know yet, but that's what we're trying to find out. We think the answer will lead us closer to the stone," he replied. He left her standing there staring out at the terrifying sight before her like he'd seen it a thousand times.

"Edward," Winry whispered, hugging her arms around her waist. She wasn't cold but she felt chill in this place. Ed stopped walking away from her. He had been heading down another staircase when he turned to face her with a confused expression. "I don't like this place. Are you sure this is a good idea, coming here?"

Edward's eyes softened and he walked back towards her and held out his hand to her. "Come on, Winry," he said, comfortingly.

Finally, able to tear her gaze away from the terrifying sight, Winry turned and took the hand Edward had offered. She felt a little more secure now, but she found it odd that Ed was even letting her hold his hand. What an odd thing for him to do, she thought, but she didn't mind it. She looked over at him and thought she saw him smirk, but a second later the expression was gone and she figured she might have imagined it.

Edward pushed the tall double-door entrance open to let them into the mansion. They entered into a well lit foyer that extended into a dual staircase upon which a young woman stood with her arms crossed. She had short brown hair and sharp eyes. Winry blinked in confusion. Someone actually lived here?

"Why hello," said the woman descending the staircase, uncrossing her arms and holding them open as if she planned to hug them, "Graciously, I welcome you."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Winry muttered in confusion. She turned to Edward, who was grinning widely. He dropped her hand.

"You must be lost," the woman replied with a grin, "Is there someone you're looking for?"

Winry took a moment to register what she had said. Someone she was looking for? But Edward had said Al was here and they were doing research. She assumed it had been an abandoned building when she saw it and now she was being questioned like she had stepped into the wrong classroom. Like the ghost city outside the buildings walls did not exist. She turned to Edward for an answer.

But it wasn't him.

Instead, a man, at least she thought it was a man, stood beside her with long forest green hair that was separated into masses of long spikes down to his waist. His eyes were sharp violet. The grin he wore was wide with amusement.

Winry jumped away from him in shock and gave a yelp in surprise and fear. The woman chuckled quietly, but the thing that had been Edward only smirked wider. "What's the matter?" he said through pointed teeth, "I'm not _that_ bad looking, am I?"

"W-who are you? What a-are you?" Winry blurted, "What have you done with Edward!?"

"That's too many questions," the thing said, "you better keep your trap shut or I'll close it for you."

The thing approached her slowly.

"Envy," the woman said, sharply, "You will not harm her. Remember why I asked you to bring her? She is too precious to mare."

Winry shivered as the thing named Envy bared its teeth at the woman. It's eyes flashed maliciously in the brilliant warm light of the foyer. "But you said –," it shouted, angrily.

"I said your time will come, but now is not the time," the woman replied. Envy frowned as its fists shook violently on the side of its body. Winry took another timid step away from _him_. _He_ was the shape-shifter. One of the homunculi Edward had been talking about in the hospital when Hughes was still on the case. Winry remembered now. But what could she do? She couldn't possibly outrun this monster.

"Winry Rockbell," said the woman turning to her, "don't be afraid, my dear. You are quite safe here."

"Who are you? What have you done with Edward? What do you want with me?" Winry cried.

"See, too many questions. That pipsqueak is probably still at the library where I left him," Envy sneered. Winry shuddered and took another step back.

The woman looked between Envy and Winry and smirked. A dark glint was present in her eyes. "We're not going to hurt you. Envy will see to it that you're taken care of during your stay here," she said.

Envy spun around and rounded on the woman now. "Why me!? You said I could beat that bastard's son and his tin can brother?"

"I didn't say 'beat', Envy. I said follow," the woman corrected him calmly, even though a furious homunculi was glaring at her from only a few feet away. "You do want to kill them don't you?"

Winry drew in a sharp breath.

"Of course I do!" Envy shouted, angrily, "But when?"

"After you've done what you've been instructed to do," the woman replied, sternly, "Now, go and take this poor thing up to one of the guest suites."

Envy seemed to have calmed down a little bit. Winry realized he was walking towards her. She turned and tried to run for the door, but he was much too fast. A strong hand had wrapped itself around her upper arm and dragged her back. "Come on. You're only going to make this worse for yourself," Envy snarled.

"Oh, and Envy," the woman added. Envy looked back with a deep frown, his eyes narrowed on her in hatred, "remember if I find one bruise on her you will be the one to answer to me."

Envy bared his teeth. He pulled a screaming Winry toward the staircase. She flung her arms wildly to see if she could catch his jaw or nose with her fist, but he was too strong and fast for her. He caught both her wrists in one hand and trapped them behind her back.

"Envy is not one given to tolerance, my dear. It is in your best interest to behave," the woman commented. Winry stifled a whine. She noticed the monster, Envy, was holding her wrists firmly, but not hurting her. She assumed it could be worse, but what did they want with her anyways?

Envy shoved her toward another door and she went without a word. The mansion lived up to its name. By the time they had reached a suite on an upper floor, Winry had lost count of how many doors they had passed by and how many staircases they had climbed. The suite she had been unceremoniously thrown into was large enough to accommodate a small family. There was a four poster bed, a full en suite and a large bay window overlooking the eerie ghost city with the cavern like sky up above. Winry sat up on the floor and sighed. If she had been in any other situation she may have actually enjoyed herself.

The door closed and Winry spun around to find the violet eyed homunculi glaring at her from beneath heavy locks of green hair. She was confused over one too many things, but the main question racking her brain was why she had been dragged here in the first place and where Edward and Alphonse really were.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her voice calm. She watched as the pale face relaxed into what might have been a studious expression.

Then a corner of Envy's mouth turned up and he shrugged carelessly, "How should I know? I was just told capture and bring you here."

"What about Ed and Al? You haven't hurt them have you?" Winry cried.

Envy's expression soured. "I wish. You know, you really do ask too many questions."

There was a moment of silence, where Envy and Winry simply stared at each other. Winry glared, Envy stared. Then: "Ed told me about you," Winry said, darkly. Her voice trembled just slightly and it didn't go unnoticed. Envy smirked in amusement at his ability to purge terror into those he had never even met before.

"Really? I'm touched," Envy mocked, "Glad to know I'm thought of. Oh, by the way, if he said anything rotten about me, I'll have to remember it for when I'm finally able to kill him with my own hands."

"Kill him!?" Winry cried, "What did he ever do to you?"

Envy's eyes suddenly glazed over with pure fury. His face contorted with anger. "_Everything_!" he hissed, darkly, "He deserves to burn in hell! I hate him! I hate him for carrying that bastards blood in his veins!"

Winry crawled as far as she could away from Envy until her back was against the wall and she felt as trapped as she'd ever been. Envy was glowering at her from the other side of the room as if the answer to her question should have been obvious. However, underneath the terror she felt she also held a small amount of curiosity. Maybe she did ask too many questions, but she couldn't help herself.

"I don't understand," she said, "Who are you talking about?"

Envy rounded on her and growled, "Hohenheim." He spoke the name with such animosity that it sounded evil in itself. Then, with a shock, Winry realized, "Ed's father?"

Bad question.

Envy threw his body forward into a powerful punch that just missed her head by an inch and drove a car-sized hole into the wall. Winry had shut her eyes in fear, thinking that he had been aiming for her. When she opened them she realized Envy still held his fist in the wall. He was shaking with fury, his eyes were mad and wide. The sight made Winry shiver. She knew that woman had ordered him not to harm her, but people were driven insane when emotion came into play. He may disobey the rules just to vent his anger on her once.

Envy pulled his fist out of the wall and stormed away. With that motion, the topic closed itself. Winry knew better than to bring it up again. Without a word to her, Envy left, slamming and locking the door behind him. Winry sighed in relief as the angry dark cloud lifted with his leave.

What did she ever do to deserve this and when will it all be over?

* * *

"What was that noise? I told you not to lay a hand on her!" Dante snapped as Envy casually entered the dinning room. There before Dante stood Wrath and Sloth watching him curiously. Wrath was clinging to Sloth as always, and Sloth simply played the role by stroking his hair. It made Envy sick.

The long walk through the many long hallways had already calmed Envy down. He would have hated for the other homunculus to see him all wound up like he had been.

He smirked carelessly. "I didn't touch her," he said smugly, "I only scared her a little. She won't be trying to pick a fight with me anytime soon."

"I'm glad you established your rein of control over _something_ then," Dante replied sarcastically, which made Envy even more irritated, "but your attitude towards me earlier was not impressive. Try to learn some respect. Hohenheim brought you into this world, but I have the tools to take you out of it just as easily."

Envy could have killed her, would have killed her, but he knew she was right. She did have the _tools_, as she put it, and her red stones were too delicious to pass up in exchange for freedom. However, he wasn't one for apologies either. "So, what do you want me to do now?" he said, changing the subject.

Dante was used to his avoidance tactic. He'd done the same thing for four hundred years.

"I told you," she said, "the girl is in your care now."

Envy scowled, "But I want –,"

"I know what you want, Envy, but first you need to do a few things for me," Dante said.

Envy turned immediately to Wrath, "Go and get some food and bring it to the human," he ordered.

"Why don't you just give her some stones?" Wrath complained, evidently not wanting to be parted from his 'mother' just yet.

"Humans don't eat red stones, you twat," Envy replied frowning, "Master keeps food in the kitchen. You've eaten it before. How can you not remember?"

Wrath gave a little whine before letting go of Sloth. He kept a good leg-length distance from Envy as he passed on his way to the kitchen. Envy just glowered at him until he disappeared.

"Make sure you feed her well, Envy. I need her to fit all my dresses," Dante said, darkly. Then, she turned to the other homunculi, "Sloth, go and contact Lust. I need her and Gluttony to keep an eye on Edward Elric and his brother. Now that their dear friend has gone missing I doubt they won't suspect we are behind it. I need to make sure they don't find this place. Not yet."

* * *

**Leonahari:** Hope you like it so far. This is going to be my first major story WITHOUT O/Cs. Please review! Next chapter soon.


	2. Falling

**Leonahari: **Thanks for all your reviews! Much appreciated. I did mention spoilers right? Well, warning: spoilers.

**Chapter 2: Falling**

Winry still had her book bag on her and inside that lay the old alchemy book she had wanted to read. It had been at least an hour since she had been thrown into the room, and she knew she couldn't do anything against those monsters that had captured her. The best she could hope for now was Edward and Alphonse to realize she was missing before something terrible happened. So, to try and get her mind of things, Winry settled herself on top of the four-poster bed and flipped open the alchemy book.

The last chapter was based on Homunculus and their creation, though it was extremely vague. Winry read: _Homunculi are perfectly created artificial humans_. The rest of the details required that she knew something about alchemy, which she didn't. She only knew what Edward and Alphonse had told her and that was very little since they had burnt their home to the ground.

She sighed and rested her head in her arms. Sometimes she wished she could be confided in a little bit more. She had known them all her life and still they insisted in keeping her at an arms distance. She knew Maes Hughes was right when he said that Ed and Al were probably just trying to keep her out of harms way, but Winry was a little offended that they didn't have any faith in her to take care of herself.

She frowned as she realized the situation she was in now. Maybe they had a good reason.

The door suddenly opened and Winry immediately recognized Izumi's child walk towards her with a tray of what looked like food. She jumped off the bed and came towards him. "Hey, it's you," she said with relief, "Izumi's been worried sick –,"

"My names Wrath," he interrupted her and thrust the tray at her to take it, "Envy told me to bring this to you."

"Envy?" Winry took a moment to realize Envy was a name, "Oh, that monster!?"

"You shouldn't call him that. He doesn't like it," Wrath said.

"Well, too bad!" Winry snapped, "I don't think I'm in the mood to be sympathetic right now."

She took the tray from Wrath and set it down on the bed. It held orange juice and a peanut butter sandwich. She didn't feel hungry and she was sure if she ate something her stomach would reject it. She was too frightened and anxious to eat. Not only that, but she suspected poison as well.

"Why don't humans eat red stones?" Wrath asked randomly. Winry turned back to him, "Red stones? What do you mean?"

Suddenly, the door was slammed open and Envy appeared in the doorway. "Time to go, Wrath," he snapped. Wrath flinched and hurried out before Envy could kick him. Then, Envy turned his attention to Winry, "Eat the food. There's nothing wrong with it."

"How should I know? You probably poisoned it!"

Envy seemed to find her assumption amusing. He chuckled darkly, "Do what you want. It's not my fault you'll starve."

"Or poisoned?"

"It's not poisoned," Envy assured her, with a dark grin. He closed the door, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall to observe her through his spiky mass of hair.

"How do you know? You didn't prepare it did you?" Winry countered.

Envy's grin finally faded as his expression grew into something darker. "Cuz' I know something of poison."

Winry fell silent and pondered what he meant by that. Her eyes landed on her alchemy book, still open to the page where the homunculus description was found. The words of the definition echoed in her mind _perfectly created artificial human_. Each word in that description held a flaw. Even perfection did not exist, and as for the three words which came after, well, they were riddled with imperfection.

Another question bounced through her mind. Why were the homunculi named after the sins? She frowned in thought. Then, she had an idea.

Winry looked up at Envy, who happened to be staring across the room at nothing in particular. It was going to be a long shot, but she needed to try. "Hey, you owe me an explanation!" she said. Her outburst caught Envy off guard. He snapped his head in her direction, his expression confused and a little worried.

"I don't owe anyone anything, you dim wit," he said in defense.

Winry grinned in triumph, "Did you already forget that you promised to tell me about homunculi?"

"Don't get too cocky. What makes you think I keep promises?" Envy's eyes shone maliciously.

Winry wasn't daunted. "If you didn't keep promises, then you wouldn't be obligated into taking orders from that woman," Winry said, and she craned her head to gesture at the large hole in the wall, "and I would already be dead by now."

Envy gave her a blank stare. Winry knew he knew she was right, either that or Envy figured there was no harm in giving her information that she should have already known. Reluctantly, he spoke, "An homunculus is born when a human transmutation backfires. Another being is born with its own body and mind, but it has no soul. That's what an homunculus is."

Winry made a mental note that Envy said 'born' and not created. "So, that's what you and Wrath are?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Envy replied. He seemed to be loosing his nerve with every question.

"So, do homunculi have feelings?"

"No, we have no soul."

"Really?" Winry grinned, gesturing again to the destruction, "Then, what was that display of anger back there? Isn't anger a feeling?"

Winry was sure that she would be able to stall him, but a smug grin lifted one of the corners of Envy's mouth. He turned his face downwards in almost a sigh, "Anger is in our nature," he said, "We homunculi experience anger as soon as we are born because we are meant to loath whomever brought us into this world. The older the homunculi the more stable and consistent their behavior becomes."

"You mean the more human they become then?" Winry countered. This earned a wicked chuckle from the other. "You really think human beings are stable?" he said in amusement.

"Most of them," Winry replied. She admitted the conversation was now slipping from her control.

"Think what you want, but all my life I've watched the suffering of you vile creatures caused by your own greed and need for power," Envy smirked, "Don't get me wrong though. It's rather entertaining."

"But that doesn't make sense. If you hate us so much, why do you want to become human yourself?" Winry snapped. She had to admit, the topic was getting extremely upsetting for her.

Envy's grin widened, but his eyes remained closed and aimed at the floor. He seemed calm and completely collected, when only a few hours ago he was shouting and punching holes in walls. "The younger ones don't know this yet, but once we're human then we can finally die."

Those words took the silence of the room, strung it up over Winry's head and held it there making her feel tense and shocked. Envy had reopened his violet eyes to stare over at what he hoped would be a look of horror on Winry's face and he wasn't disappointed.

Most humans and homunculi alike didn't realize until they were as old as Envy, that the only thing humans had going for them was their ability to die peacefully. For a homunculus, death is a painful method of destruction. Envy had never been caught in the array of the Sealing Circle, and he hoped he never would. He had witnessed countless homunculi get sealed away either for a certain amount of time, like Greed, or for eternity where they would be thrown back into the gate.

"To die?" Winry repeated in a low whisper.

Envy noticed the alchemy book lying open on the bed and smirked. She wouldn't get any of this from an alchemy book which a human wrote. His eyes landed once more on her face. She looked shocked no longer. A new expression had formed there, something Envy was embarrassed to admit looked like pity.

"We are the damned after all," he sneered, trying to firm his image of a horrifying monster in her mind. It didn't seem to work.

"So you wait for death?" Winry exploded. Her eyes watered at the edges and she seemed to have forgotten she was yelling at someone who was not human and not one usually given to pity. "Is that all? How can you say that? Everyone's life has a meaning and a purpose and it's not just to die!"

Envy figured it was a tough case of denial. Everyone died eventually. "We are sins of nature. We were never supposed to exist to begin with," he said, casually.

"But that's wrong!" Winry said in defiance. She fell silent for a moment to sniff and wipe her eyes. Envy didn't know why she was getting so worked up over this. It's not like she could possibly care for him and the other homunculi.

"I'm not going to stand here and argue the meaning of life with you, dim wit," Envy growled, putting an immediate stop to her sobbing, "Don't forget, you were the one who needed to know, remember? It's not like I care what happens in the end."

"How can you say that? This is your life!"

"No, my life ended a long time ago," Envy sneered, "You forget: I'm not human."

Winry opened her mouth to ask another question, but Envy cut her short, "That's enough talking for now. You should be happy I kept my promise and shared so much information with you."

Winry did find it odd that he shared so much with her, willingly. She assumed he wasn't going to say anything more, and turned back to the tray of food. She had forgotten about it, and about how hungry she was. It was probably very late by this time, and she knew her grandmother would not think it wise of her to eat so late, but she couldn't help it. She never thought peanut butter could smell so delicious and look so mouth watering.

"That's right, eat up. My master would prefer it if she knew you were being fed well," Envy commented.

Winry tore her gaze from the food again, and noticed Envy give a sigh with his shoulders. "If it's not poison, then why are you being so nice? Why keep me alive?" she asked.

"How should I know? I just follow orders," Envy said simply.

Winry was known to be a good judge of character, even to one she had never met before. "You're lying. You know full well why that woman wants me here, but you're not telling," she said, quietly. As she expected, a corner of Envy's mouth twitched and turned up slightly.

"Eat. You must be starving," he said.

* * *

Edward and Alphonse Elric got back extremely late. Sceizka was already drooling over a pile of opened military reports with her glasses askew when they snuck in. Edward had no problem winding his way quietly around the towers of books in the living room as to not wake the librarian up, but Alphonse had a bit of trouble. His large amour body was too wide to fit between the stacks of encyclopedias and they ended up toppling to the floor.

Sceizka shot up. "Who's there? I've got weapons, you know!" she shouted holding two large, hard cover books in each hand.

"Calm down, Sceizka. It's just us," Edward said with a yawn. The librarian dropped the books with a sigh.

"Oh, hey, guys. You're back awfully late," she said, "Did you find anything useful?"

"Not really," Alphonse replied, "Just some books restating what we already knew."

"Wait a sec," Sceizka said, as she suddenly noticed, "Wasn't Winry with you guys?"

"No, we thought she was here with you," Ed replied.

"She took off for the library right after you left," Sceizka said as her face when rigid with terror, "Oh no! The _aliens_ got her!"

Edward and Alphonse exchanged confused looks. They decidedly ignored her comment. "Maybe she saw an automail store and went window shopping," Edward suggested lightly trying to calm Sceizka down. Alphonse didn't catch what he was trying to do and got defensive. "That's not funny, brother. We have to look for her. Something could have happened."

Edward sighed. Sometimes Alphonse was a loose canon, especially when it came to Winry. "Okay, Al, I know," he said, "but where do you think she could have gone?"

"Or taken to?" Sceizka added, pulling on her short brown hair in distress.

Alphonse suddenly gasped. "Brother, do you think…I know it's a long shot, but maybe the homunculi…"

Edward stood rigid on the spot. He didn't want to think that those monsters had laid a hand on Winry. "If they did, Al, then they wouldn't kill her," he said. He didn't know how or why he felt so certain, but in the back of his mind it made sense to him. If they killed Winry, there would be no point in it besides to hurt Ed and Al. It would be more useful for Envy and the rest of them to keep Winry hostage just in case Edward did something they didn't like. It would enable them to gain control over him and get to the philosopher stone faster.

Alphonse seemed to have come to the same conclusion in his mind. "They must be keeping her somewhere close by then," he said, "They must have been watching us for a while now."

"Yeah, they're hiding out somewhere," Ed agreed, "We just gotta find their little nest and smash it open."

"Do you think we should tell the Colonel?" Al asked.

"No way, Al!" Edward looked at Al like he had gone insane, "We can handle this. Remember, the homunculi don't want us dead. They need us more than we need them to create the philosopher stone."

"Well, we don't even know where they're hiding," Al countered, "It will take us days to search Central on our own."

"Yeah, I know, Al," Edward said with a sigh, "but I know for certain they wouldn't harm Winry as long as they think I'm doing their dirty work."

Silence fell between the brothers as they stood deep in thought. It was their only option at this point.

"Um…excuse me," Sciezka intervened with a pale face, "but I was right wasn't I? You guys _are_ talking about aliens."

Edward and Alphonse just stared at her. If Alphonse could, he would have matched the expression of pity and dumbfounding that had spread across his brothers features. Suddenly, Edward turned to Alphonse, "Time to go, Al."

"Right!"

* * *

High above the open window, sat the curvy homunculus and her bulky follower. Lust watched as the front door opened below them and out ran both brothers. She smiled to herself. "Dante was right. Now the only thing left for Edward and his brother is to play right into her hands," she said.

"Master will be so happy!" Gluttony exclaimed, sucking on his finger with hungry eyes scouting the street below.

"It's too bad, really," Lust said, "She'll destroy anyone who knew anything about us and the philosopher stone, and we'll be left to find our way on our own."

"You'll have me, Lust!"

Lust frowned down upon the two boys as they started to run threw the street in search of their friend. They could have answered so many questions for her. The question that tormented her to no end was the question of her past, and her inevitable future, whatever it may hold for her. Unlike, Envy, Lust did not believe that the memories she had were not her own. The feelings they inspired within her were raw and real. How could Envy and the others ignore such an obvious hint to the truth of their prior existence?

"Lust, they're getting away," Gluttony announced, snapping Lust out of her thoughts.

"Let them," she said, weakly, "I need to find Scar and talk to him."

"But master said to follow them," Gluttony said, eyes wide with horror that his Lust was breaking away from the loyalty of their master.

"Master's orders can wait for now," Lust retorted, "This is something I need to do."

She turned and jumped down from the roof. "Are you coming, Gluttony?"

Gluttony didn't move. He sat stiff on the rooftop sucking at his finger. "Want to, but master's scary when she's mad," he whined. He looked helplessly caught between the desire to go with Lust and his loyalty to their master.

Lust gave an angry hiss and stormed away, leaving him to sit on the roof alone.

* * *

Winry didn't know if it was morning or not. All she knew was that she had fallen asleep at some point in time last night after she had eaten the sandwich and now she had reawaken. The room was still as dim as it had been when she last saw it, except now the lantern beside the bed was out, casting the room in a gray darkness. The window was left open, letting in a cool breeze from the underground. She shivered and sat up in bed. White linen slipped off her body and she couldn't remember tucking herself in.

She shook her head to clear the sleep from her mind. Last night had been a haze of action and terror. Her brain was aching from all the information she had absorbed and now what was left in its wake was absolute silence. She was in awe at how quite this place was. Underground, away from the traffic of life, electricity and roommates like Sciezka.

Another cool breeze brushed across her skin and she shivered. She would have to close that window, but then she realized with a shock that someone was seated on the bay, leaning against the sill. It was a wake up call to Winry as she recognized him as Envy. However, he looked like he was sleeping.

Winry couldn't be sure, but she was certain his eyes were closed. His head rested against the open window sill, arms crossed neatly over one knee as the other leg stretched out over the width of the bay seat. Was he pretending? Winry wasn't sure if Homunculi slept. How could she be sure he wasn't fooling her?

All she wanted to do was close the window. If she could find out if he was really sleeping then maybe she was in luck and she could sneak out. But if she snuck out, there was a chance she'd run in to the others. She shivered at the thought. It had nothing to do with the cold anymore. She would have to sneak out the window. That was her only option. But that would mean…

She would have to climb over the sleeping homunculus. She frowned as she remembered the tale her mother used to tell her where the moral of the story was that you should never tickle a sleeping dragon.

She figured Envy was the dragon in this case. His mood swings certainly fitted him well with the idea of one. However, if it meant getting out of here and being safely with Edward and Alphonse again, then she would have to try.

Quietly, she got out of bed and crept across the floor toward the window. When she got within a foot distance of Envy, she took a moment to study him and make sure he was really asleep.

His eyelids weren't twitching, they were heavily settled over his violet eyes and Winry took this as a good sign. His chest, half hidden under a very tight black shirt, was rising and falling with a gentle rhythm as one did when they were sleeping soundly. Winry took both these signs and concluded, based on her knowledge of math and science, that Envy was indeed in a deep sleep.

She smirked in triumph. She had always been a light sleeper, but it seemed Envy was not. However, she was told that she was also a loud sleeper. She blushed. Envy on the other hand, well, Winry could hardly hear his shallow breathing. He looked to be in absolute peace.

Winry reminded herself that this was not a human being, but rather a sin of nature. Envy was a damned creature, who did not know peace or serenity. Winry regretted thinking that, because as soon as she did she felt a swell of pity for him. She remembered how Wrath had been before he had been in contact with the other homunculi. He had been a perfectly normal child, and in ignorance of his odd double skin tone and inability to sense what was right and wrong in society, he had desperately craved affection.

Winry wondered if Envy had been the same. Now, he was tainted by something even he was unaware of, but made him the monster he is presently. What did that woman do to Wrath to change him? Winry thought. She frowned. Edward probably knew and hadn't told her.

She shook her mind clear of thoughts and focused on what needed to be done. She peeked over Envy and saw that the roof was shingled with the old fashioned half-circle planks of clay. Her frown deepened, because she knew if she stepped in the wrong place while climbing onto them they would slide out from beneath her and from the look of it, it was a long drop to the ground below. She took a deep breath, checked one last time that Envy was sleeping and placed a hand firmly on the sill.

The first trick would be to climb over Envy and out the window without waking him. Putting most of her weight on her hand which was stationed directly over Envy's head, Winry planted one of her feet underneath his bended knee and gently eased herself off the ground. She swallowed nervously and looked down at the quiet, peaceful form of Envy still asleep.

Taking another breath, Winry brought her other leg over the body of the homunculus and firmly planted it on the outside of the sill. Now the hard part would begin. She would have to find a way to stand on the outside of the window without making any of the shingles slide. A voice in the back of her mind told her this was a stupid idea and that she should just go back and try the door, but Winry could be as stubborn as Edward sometimes and she ignored it. If she tried the door there was a good chance she would run into more homunculi and they would be awake. Winry preferred to deal with just one who happened to be conveniently in a deep sleep.

Once she was past Envy, she gently slid down the outer wall until her feet touched the roof shingles beneath. She looked to the side and found that there was a window ever few feet apart and she decided she could probably make it across one by one until she reached the drainage pipe, where she would slide down. It was a rough plan, but Winry was determined.

Carefully, she leaned herself up against the outer edge of the mansion and shuffled one foot over to the next shingle. She breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't move under her weight, and then moved the next foot. Slowly but surely she could do this.

_Just don't look down…_

She had never been afraid of heights but she knew it was a dead drop from where she stood to the ground beneath. She couldn't count the staircases Envy had led her up to get to the room, but she was certain she was standing at least a good four or five stories from the cavern floor.

_If Edward could see me now…_ Winry thought he would either think she was crazy or he would be impressed. Everything was going smoothly so far and she was nearing the second window, but fate had another trick up its sleeve.

Winry moved too fast and the shingle beneath her right foot slid out from beneath her. She was able to retain her balance by pressing her body up against the wall, but now the shingle beneath her left foot had come loose and she felt if she moved she would send the whole row crashing to the ground with her on for the ride. The other shingle that had slide out was already making enough noise as moved with the pull of gravity towards the edge of the roof, pulling up other loose planks with it. They all slid off the side, there was a moment of silence and then a loud crash as they shattered to the ground.

Winry stayed motionless and in shock. Her eyes darted at the window where she knew Envy had been sleeping and she doubted anyone could have slept through that. As she guessed, Envy shot up in dismay. Winry knew she had to move now or she would get caught.

"Hey, you know that's not the smartest idea!" Envy shouted at her. He was angry with himself for having let her escape like that, but at the same time he wasn't too thrilled about going out there and getting her. He may be immortal, but he still felt physical pain and he knew that if he fell it would hurt.

However, if she fell, his master would have a row with him and he knew it would end with him going through a long strain of torture for his failure. Envy wasn't one to fail on an order. He may not have liked Dante, but he hated her alchemic power more. If he failed, she would make sure that he bled for it.

"Get back here!" he shouted.

"Yeah, right," Winry snapped sarcastically. She made another move towards the opposite window, but it was a huge mistake.

Within seconds of moving her foot off the shingle, Winry knew she had made a terrible decision. Before she knew it the planks underneath both her feet shuddered and slid out from beneath her. Without the ability to stable herself, she instinctively stepped forward to catch herself and ended up loosening all the shingles around her. They started to move downwards like a massive wave of dominoes, and she was being swept towards the edge. She screamed in fright as she realized she could not grab hold of anything that wouldn't move with her downward flow.

"Shit!" Envy cursed. Now, he would have to go out there and try and save her dumb ass. If she got one scratch on her, Dante would know about it and punish him for it severely.

Winry was in a panic as she tried to grab at whatever she could with her hands to keep herself from sliding down to the edge. Her hands were getting terribly cut up from the sharp broken clay, but she didn't care. Then, her feet no longer had anything solid to grope at and she knew this was the end. She had reached the edge of the roof and she was going to fall to her death.

However, someone grabbed her arms firmly and pulled her up. With inhuman strength, she was thrown upward and caught in the arms of the homunculus she had been trying to get away from. His face was concentrated and furious. Winry could no longer admit that she wanted to get away from him, all she wanted now was to get out of this situation alive. Envy might have been holding her with one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back, but he was sliding too and now he had no arms for balance.

Instinctively, Winry wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but she learnt soon that this had been a bad idea. Envy lost his balance and fell backwards onto the rolling shingles. The wind was knocked out of him, but he regained enough strength to tighten his grip on Winry. They were both going to fall now.

Winry closed her eyes. She felt Envy bring her close to his body as they fell. Wind passed them in a rush, whistling in their ears, cold and promising death or pain. It seemed to take them forever to hit the ground. Winry couldn't even scream, she was too much in shock.

When the inevitable finally came, Winry felt a jolt and heard a gut wrenching crunch. When she finally came to her senses she was lying on something soft and warm. She opened her eyes she realized she was lying on top of Envy, who was lying on his back with his arms still wrapped around her protectively. His eyes were shut tightly. Blood was streaming from the corners of his mouth. His face was contorted in agony. Broken and scattered shards of clay shingles lay surrounding them all soaked in what looked like a dark crimson liquid. Blood.

Panicking, Winry let out a muffled sob and tried to pull away from Envy. Her weight was probably not going to do him any good and he was seriously injured. However, his arms tightened around her and kept her where she was. She looked up and saw that Envy sharp violet eyes were watching her face.

"Do me…a favor…" he forced the words out of a bloodied mouth, "and don't move…a moment."

Winry obliged and waited. Envy closed his eyes again. Wondering what Envy could have meant by that, Winry watched him expectantly. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she knew he couldn't possibly _die_. He already told her himself that homunculi can't die. But, then why was he bleeding so much? Any normal human being would have been dead by now.

Suddenly, a flash of blue light started to radiate around Envy's body. Winry watched in amazement as all his cuts and wounds were mended like they had never existed. She heard him sigh in relief as the pain was extinguished. Then, their eyes met again. This time the violet hue didn't look so weak.

"Get off of me," Envy spat, pushing her off his body. He sat up and flexed his hands and elbows a few times, making sure those red stones did their job.

Winry watched him for a few minutes before reality finally hit her in the face. She couldn't run now, she had been caught and in the most brutal way. However, she couldn't help but feel grateful towards Envy. Yes, he was immortal and it had been no real loss to him to fall with her, but nobody willingly went through pain to save someone they obviously didn't want anything to do with. Winry had seen Envy's face after the fall. He had been in agony.

"T-thank you," she mumbled. She thought that Envy might take it to heart, but she was wrong.

"Thank you?" he snapped, "If you hadn't have gotten that stupid idea in your head, I wouldn't have had to run out there and save your dumb ass."

Winry suddenly snapped. Like Edward, she had a fuse shorter than Alphonse and she was not going to take being yelled at more than once in twenty-four hours even if Envy was a homunculus. "Well, excuse me for being kidnapped, but I was trying to escape and some idiot left the window wide open!"

"Most sane people use the door!" Envy snarled, "Now, look what you've done." He added as his eyes landed on her legs and hands. They were cut up badly. Blood was dripping down her fair skin in rivers.

Winry hadn't really noticed until he had said something, but she wasn't at all surprised. She would have been more shocked if she had come out of that incident unscathed.

"I can't bring you back to my master looking like that," Envy frowned, but his violet eyes were glazed with worry. Dante would surely punish him for his carelessness. A few of those cuts looked like they would leave a scar.

Winry took her chance. "Well, then you could always release me," she suggested. She knew that would never happen, but she was going to try and make this as difficult for him as possible. Unfortunately for her, Envy had another idea.

**Leonahari: **Yay! I hope you liked it. I'm trying desperately to keep these guys in character. I think I've said it before, but Envy is a really hard one to write. I've had to revisit the anime a few times just to hear and see how exactly he interacts with different characters of the series. phew...lots of work. Anyhow, I know people are reading so please review! Next chapter soon!


	3. Hunted

**Leonahari: **I'm sorry! I know this is the third chapter and you guys haven't gotten any action yet, but give me a breather. This is a really hard pairing!

**Chapter 3: Hunted**

In Lior the Holy Mother had risen to take her place of leadership among the people with Scar at her side. The reform movement had just begun. The people were inspired with new hope to rebuild after the devastating civil war had stripped the city of its peace and pride. The novelty that reform had brought inspired a sort of surreal joy that fused the air around with a jovial charge. It was a little depressing for the homunculus who stood in wait on the edge of the crowded city street.

Lust was waiting for him. For Scar. He would show up at any moment aiding the Holy Mother through the streets of Lior, beckoning the people to show their support in a movement he believed little in. Lust frowned when the crowd of onlookers blocked her view of the two-person parade. She slipped between strangers to get to the edge of the audience and stood in silence. Her violet eyes landed on the man with the scar on his face just as he spotted her out of the crowd.

"You again?" he mumbled in distant curiosity.

"I've come here to ask you something," Lust replied, "A favor in other words."

Scar took a moments hesitation before he parted himself from Roze and the crowd and came face to face with the homunculus who reminded him so much of _her_. He couldn't be sure why she had come. Lust needed to know so many things and he was the key to unlocking her past. She just needed to ask the right questions.

"Over here," he said as he led her into a small, but comfortable living hut on the edge of the street. It was used to house people who had no where to go because of the civil war, but it had been left empty. "You're the one," Scar said, quietly, "The woman who's been haunting me ever since I've been sending the state alchemists to their maker. Why do you torment me? What do you want?"

"I want to know who I am," Lust replied, simply. Scar was taken aback, "Who you are?"

"I have been tormented too by memories of a past life not known to me," Lust said, "Memories of you and another man. When I saw your face, I knew it was you I remembered."

"You look like her, but you can't be her," Scar replied, "The woman my brother loved died years ago of sickness. You are one of those monsters that have been after the philosopher stone. What you are or who you are has nothing to do with the woman my brother once loved."

"But these memories," Lust said, desperately, "You can't tell me what I've seen, what I feel…You can't tell me it's fake!"

"Maybe not," Scar said, "Maybe you have her memories because she is the woman you were created from. I don't know, but I don't know why you expect me to have the answers you're searching for."

"If I become human," Lust started, but Scar cut her short, "That's impossible. I know what you homunculi are after. I may not know a lot about alchemy like my brother before me, but I know that once something is created as a sin against its maker, that thing, it can never be redeemed. It must die first and face its judgment. At least that is the teaching of Ishbalah."

"What if you're wrong and I do become human?" Lust said, balling her fists. Her long, sharp nails were threatening to tear, pierce, rip.

"Then, I guess you will find your answer, but tormenting me will do you no good. I know nothing of how a homunculus can be reborn." With that said, Scar turned and left Lust standing alone in the center of the grungy hideout feeling more lost than when she had first arrived.

It had been a waste of time to come here, that much was certain. Scar was preoccupied with the reform movement and wanted nothing to do with Lust. Unlike her, Scar was trying to forget the past he shared between his brother and his brother's love.

* * *

The daylight was stifling hot compared to the cold cavernous breezes below Central. Envy had dragged Winry to the surface with a plan on going to Dublith. They were going to stay at Dante's house until Winry healed and Envy felt safe enough to bring her back. In the meantime, he would have to make it look like Winry ran away and was able to escape out of the window like she had originally planned. Envy really hated Dante's punishments and he would do anything to stay away from her until Winry was in perfect condition again.

Winry, however, was not impressed in the least. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before because of her brilliant escape plan and now she found herself being carted around by a homunculus disguised as a tall, handsome brunette male. She knew Envy was trying to appeal to the eyes of the public to make them look like a fitted couple or siblings or whatever he had running through his mind, but Winry could not shake the fact that he insisted on holding her by the upper arm for control. Was that really necessary? It wasn't like she could _outrun_ him.

"Look, if you wouldn't mind," Winry said, trying to pull away from him as they stood in a crowded Central Station. The brown eyed, tan skinned Envy turned to her and hissed in her ear, "Don't try and run or I _will_ kill you, and I don't care if it has to be done in front of all these people."

Winry settled down as his threat sunk in. Envy released her arm. It was a little eerie knowing that Envy was the same person under a different face. She figured it would take some getting used to. She stared up at the trans-sign and noticed that the train Envy was pulling her towards was headed to Dublith. Why would he want to go there?

It took her a moment to realize that not only were they going to Dublith, but they were headed for a town where a very temperamental woman lived: Izumi.

Winry held back a grin.

Another escape plan popped into her head Homunculus or not, nobody stood a chance against Edward's teacher.

Winry was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as a shorter man in a military uniform knocked into her. He had black glasses and dark hair. "S-sorry!" he said as he ran by, fixing his hat as he went. Winry stared after him, dumbfounded. Then, she realized…

She could have slapped herself!

_You just let an officer run off without trying to tell him you're kidnapped!_

Winry boarded the train in a very bad mood. She and Envy sat in a booth seat. It seemed like nobody wanted to go to Dublith because the car was almost empty except for Winry, Envy and another couple, who sat the very end to have their privacy. Envy sat across from Winry, easing one knee up to his chest. Winry was starting to recognize this as just the way he sat on a regular bases.

"Why are we going to Dublith?" she asked as the train stared to glide out of the station. Envy's eyes went to the window and scanned the people they were leaving behind.

"My masters house is there," he replied, "You can stay there until those wounds heal up."

Winry found this a little odd. Why go to such lengths because she had a few cuts? It wasn't like she was injured beyond repair. Or, perhaps, there was more to it than Envy was letting on. Maybe he was so afraid of his master that he couldn't bare it if she discovered he had failed to keep Winry in perfect condition. "Do you fear her that much?"

Winry's question caught Envy off guard, but he recovered almost immediately. He smirked, brown eyes closed temporarily to hide whatever thoughts passed through them, "Don't get too hopeful, as soon as your cuts are healed I'm dragging your ass back here no matter what you say."

"You still haven't told me why this is all happening," Winry said as though she expected his answer to be different from yesterday's vague explanation. Envy smirked and set his brown eyes on her mockingly, "Yeah, I know." Winry knew he wouldn't talk about it anymore after that.

They endured the remainder of the ride in silence. Winry didn't have any more questions for Envy and Envy was more than thankful for this. It seemed she had run out of steam, and he hoped it would stay that way.

The station at Dublith was much less crowded than the one in Central. Instead of leading her to the center of town Envy pulled Winry toward the edge of a rural road where a long, curving driveway disappeared into a mass of forest. It looked more like a track for horses let alone cars, and Winry felt more out of place than ever.

The forest was foggy and cold under the canopy of the large trees. The daylight was coming to an end by the time they reached Dante's house and Winry was wishing she had both a big meal and a good bed when she got there. She knew she was dreaming and that it would never happen. She wouldn't be surprised if Envy made her sleep on the floor this time. The least he could do is feed her, and she suddenly regretted not demanding breakfast before they left the other mansion. Seeing as Envy was so set on taking such good care of her, Winry smirked evilly. She had an idea.

Suddenly, she fell to the ground in the center of the path and yelped, "Oh ouch!" She held her ankle and bit her tongue so hard her eyes began to water. Envy, who had been storming ahead of her, spun around and saw her sprawled on the ground. Winry noticed his expression change from surprised to…something that looked oddly like _oh god here we go again_. Winry fought to keep her sly grin inside.

_If you're going to kidnap me, I'm going to be one tough catch to take care of!_

The handsome brunette with hazel eyes transformed back into the spiky-haired, violet eyed homunculus Winry was used to seeing. Envy knelt in front of her and, with a look of pure boredom stretched across his features, said, "What you can't even walk properly now?"

"Ouch! I think I broke my ankle!" Winry sobbed loudly. Envy looked over to where she was holding and raised an eyebrow. He had seen many broken bones, sicknesses, plagues and injuries in his lifetime to qualify him as good as any doctor, "…It's not broken."

"Well, it hurts like hell!"

"Don't blame me for your inability to put one foot after the next!" Envy snapped back, violet eyes sparking with the beginnings of anger. Unfortunately, Winry cried harder and Envy was at a loss of what to do. His anger only boiled higher. How was he supposed to know what to do when a woman started crying? In his fury he grabbed her arm and pulled her up so that she was standing. "Now, stand up and shut up!"

_That_ didn't work.

Winry, while laughing hysterically on the inside, sobbed harder and complained loudly of the pain.

However, her plan came to a stand still when Envy suddenly grabbed a fistful of her hard and pulled her head back roughly. She stopped crying immediately as soon as she noticed the fury in those violet eyes of his. The look he gave her was a dark one and his grin bared pointed teeth. "You'll shut your trap because you have a couple weeks here to heal, catch my drift? If you don't behave, I'll take it out on you."

All Envy wanted was some quiet. Was that too much to ask? Winry was silently sniffling now, standing before him with her arms crossed over her body in defense. Envy realized he was still hold her head back by her hair and he let go, but grabbed her waist instead. Winry's eyes widened at his touch, but he took no notice as he bend down and flung her over his shoulder. If she really was hurt, then he couldn't take the chance of making it worse. He knew Winry would take his threat seriously, but he wouldn't want to spend any longer than he needed out here with her. He would take his anger out on the house instead, but he was content leaving Winry to think she was in some danger.

When they entered Dante's house, Envy placed her, as gently as he could on the couch in the large living room. Winry was a little shocked at the care he took when putting her down. She couldn't catch his expression before he disappeared into the kitchen for something for her ankle. She took this moment to look around.

The room was very large and octagonal shaped. In the center was an open fireplace with a tiled hearth surrounded by rich furniture and ornate architecture. However, something else caught her eye. An array had been set into the floor and ceiling. An array that looked strikingly familiar to the one Edward wore on his jacket. She wondered what it had been used for. She had just finished eyeing an old chest in the corner of the room when Envy returned with a bag of crushed ice. When he came towards her, Winry noticed his obvious evasion of the array as he walked along the edge of it.

When he reached her he lifted her foot, removed her shoe and sock and placed her ankle down gently on the ice. Winry watched him in awe. He worked with such speed that sometimes she couldn't see what he was doing. His hands were just a blur of movement. By the time Envy finished with the bandages, what would have taken a regular doctor to do in half an hour took Envy little less than two minutes.

"There," he said finishing up, "I feel I don't need to tell you this, but don't go walking around on it like an idiot."

However, Winry stared across the room at the chest again. "What's in that thing?" she asked. She had never seen a chest like that before and looked really old. Actually, everything in the house, she agreed, looked really old, but the chest in particular caught her attention.

Envy followed her gaze and shrugged, "How should I know?" he said, "I don't go snooping through my masters things." Then, he noticed Winry's expression and quickly added, "and neither will you."

Maybe it had been a bad idea to bring her here. His mind had been running that idea through his head one too many times since they arrived in Dublith.

The sun had set completely now and the big old house looked incredibly gloomy when the shadows hid the deep recesses of the walls and high ceilings. Envy had started the fire in the living room and lit a few of the gas lanterns. Winry wondered why a place like this didn't have electricity yet. It bothered Winry into making her think she was out in the middle of nowhere with no heat and no modern outlets to indulge in. She bet the woman who owned the place didn't even have any proper tools lying around. Pitiful.

However, as Envy finished lighting the lamps he walked across the room and picked up, to Winry's excitement, an old telephone and started dialing. Winry struggled to hold in a smirk. Now all she had to do was find a way to get Envy to leave her alone with the phone so that she could call Izumi.

"It's me," Envy suddenly said and Winry realized he was speaking to someone on the other line. She assumed it was the woman he called master. "No, not yet. The little wench took off in the dead of night. How was I supposed to know she could use basic alchemy?"

Winry blinked in confusion. She knew better than to say something or make a sound. Envy was obviously doing a quick cover up for her – their – escape. Though, escape meant something more literal for Envy at the moment.

"I know, I'm not a fool," Envy snapped, "Just tell our master for me, would you? I wouldn't want her to worry so _much_ about me."

Winry frowned at his sarcasm and wondered what it could mean.

"I'll keep you posted." Envy hung up the phone with a snap and turned to look into the fire. His violet eyes were hazed over in thought. Sloth had told him their master couldn't speak to him because she was preoccupied, but that didn't make sense. Dante was obviously aware that he and the girl had disappeared, he thought she would have been more worried about her future body than that. Yes, she had given Envy orders to keep Winry from harm but he had been certain that she would yell at him over the phone for his incompetence.

He sighed. Even after four hundred years the woman who called herself his mother could be as unpredictable as a calm midnight storm.

"Is everything okay?"

Envy realized he must have sighed a bit too loudly. If the human started worrying about him then the world was _really_ coming to an end. Envy decided to ignore her. However, Winry was used to dealing with stubborn boys and their inability to share things with her. She didn't know why she decided to round on Envy like she'd rounded on Edward a million times, but it must have been pure habit. "I'm talking to you. Don't sit there and ignore me!"

Envy blinked in surprise. His eyebrows disappeared into his dark green hair as he turned to look at her. "Yell all you want, I'm not going to tell you anything," he smirked.

Winry frowned and crossed her arms angrily.

"Look maybe you're not familiar with this whole hostage thing, dim wit, but the kidnapper's not supposed to tell the captured his plan. Get it?" Envy grinned darkly. Winry wasn't stupid. She was just embarrassed that she acted on sheer impulse like she had done most of her life. She should have known he wouldn't say anything.

Envy's eyes then landed on her ankle again with a bored look. "How does it feel?" he asked in a tone that signaled to her that he didn't really care at all, but was just doing what he had to do.

"I think it's fine now," Winry mumbled. She may as well end the lie. Her ankle was in pain now because it was numb and cold.

"If you can walk I'll show you where you're going to stay for the night," Envy said. He stood just as Winry hung her legs over the edge of the couch and stretched. She yawned and pretended to tenderly touch her ankle. The skin felt like ice and she couldn't feel where she was pressing.

"Feels fine now," she lied. She stood up and followed Envy up a staircase and to a large bedroom where stood a comfortable looking bed. Winry didn't take any notice of the dresser or anything else in the room. She walked slowly towards it, exhausted. The room was very dark, considering the house had no power, but the moonlight fell into the room and highlighted the soft duvet in silver.

The comforter was so soft and warm. Winry closed her eyes and felt her body and mind relax for the first time in what felt like decades. She opened her eyes again and noticed Envy had seated himself on the floor in front of the door. Winry couldn't see his face through the darkness, but she assumed he wasn't too happy to have to sleep on the floor.

"You know you don't have to watch me," Winry said, truthfully, "I'm not going to try and escape this time."

"Nice try. Shut up and go to sleep."

* * *

Sloth bowed to Dante before she was allowed to speak. Wrath kneeled on the floor, not really aware of why he was there in the first place. Their master had summoned them to do something incredibly important, but they hadn't been told what yet.

"Master, I received a call from Envy, he's tracking the girl as we speak," Sloth announced dutifully.

"Sloth, I'm disappointed in you," said Dante with her sugar sweet voice, "Even you should have noticed that the phone signal was coming from Dublith, from my own house."

Sloth looked stunned at this piece of information. "I didn't think to check the signal, Master. Forgive me."

However, Dante wasn't paying attention. Her eyes flashed with malice. "If I know Envy, his attitude will only worsen from here on. I have to put an end to it before it gets out of hand. I want you to do this for me, Sloth."

"But Master, what about that girl? You were interested in her before," Sloth said, though she didn't understand her masters need for the girl.

"She doesn't matter anymore. I've found someone else who will be just as perfect, if not more so," Dante assured her, "Just make sure you take Wrath with you. He will be needed to activate the seal."

"Yes, master," Sloth agreed. Wrath bounced excitedly on his knees.

"Oh, and Sloth," Dante added, "Do be cautious. Envy's not stupid, he probably already suspects something. Don't give him the chance to understand what you're going to do and you may have a chance against him."

"Not that I'm complaining, but Envy is much stronger than I am," Sloth commented, "How do you expect me to do what you ask?"

"No need to worry," Dante smiled, "I will give you something to use against him."

* * *

Sceizka was worried. She was more than worried, she was _terrified_ for Winry. Edward and Alphonse had been searching for her for a full day now and nobody had heard anything. Sciezka dropped the file she had been going through to stare over at the telephone. She knew Ed and Al didn't want to get the military involved, but this was getting serious and they hadn't made any progress in finding her on their own.

Hesitantly, she lifted the receiver and dialed Roy Mustangs extension. It rang once and then….

"_Mustang here."_

Sciezka grabbed the cord for the phone and dragged the receiver over to her ear, holding it tighter, "Oh, Colonel Mustang, sir, this is Sciezka."

"_Sciezka?" _There was a moment of silence where Sciezka sighed, "The bookworm, sir."

"_Oh, Sciezka," _Mustang said as his memory came back to him, _"Right. You're call me? Something must be wrong." _

"Well, yeah, I'm a little worried about someone, sir…" and she explained Ed and Al's situation.

"_What? Full Metal can't even keep tabs on his girlfriend and now he needs me to do it for him?" _

"It's not that, sir," Sciezka said, frantically, "We think she might be in real danger. _I _think she got kidnapped, and Ed and Al have been searching all day and night –,"

"_Okay, I get it. I'll send Sergeant Feury out to investigate." _

"Thank you, sir," Sciezka sighed in deep relief. She hung up the phone feeling like she had done something progressive that day apart from reading files.

* * *

Envy was awake through the night listening to the sounds of the forest and watching out for any intruders from his spot near the window. When he was sure Winry was asleep he had moved to open the window and gazed out at the yard beneath. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to keep an eye out. Something wasn't right.

He had sensed it in Sloth's voice too when he spoke to her on the phone. She had been distant and she hadn't even bothered to scold him for using an insecure line. Envy figured Dante was behind it, but he didn't know what she planned or why.

He could guess why, of course. Dante could have seen through his hopeful act of fleeing punishment by hiding away until Winry's body healed. However, as he thought about it, he remembered that Sloth and Wrath had been present the time he had first brought Winry to the mansion and Dante had never even addressed either of them, Envy assumed, until he had left the room.

It seemed a little suspicious to him, but he couldn't be certain. Sloth and Wrath were always hanging around Dante, like pups begging from their masters table. Come to think of it, Envy noticed, he hadn't had any red stones in a while and he was starting to feel weak from the lack of 'nutrition'.

That's when he realized he had forgotten to feed Winry, and himself for that matter. He frowned. She hadn't said she was hungry, so he didn't think of it. There was no point in waking her now that she was already asleep, and, for once, _quiet_. Envy decided to leave her sleeping. If she woke up hungry he would feed her.

Something moved in the forest down below and Envy turned to stare in that direction. Had he imagined it? He was exhausted. He stared at that dark spot in the trees for another couple of minutes until it moved again. This time, Envy recognized it as a figure instead of just a breeze in the darkness, and that figure made his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach.

Envy didn't need a moment to ponder on why Dante had sent Sloth and Wrath there. He already knew. Dante must have sensed his lie through Sloth and sent her to retrieve the girl. However, if it was just to retrieve the girl then why had she sent Wrath with her? It didn't matter, Envy as was his nature, finally had a trump card hanging over Dante's head and he wouldn't let a meager, young homunculus like Sloth take it from him. Wrath, on the other hand, was not a problem for Envy. All the boy could try and do is punch him and for that Envy could just crush his little human fist for it.

However, deeper anxiety stirred in him. It didn't seem right to send them both and with no notice. Also, he had thought they would have never guessed where he was staying.

But of course! Envy almost slapped himself in the face. That telephone call had given him away. He hated new technology almost as much as he hated Edward Elric, and, to Envy, telephones were topping the list at the moment.

He watched Sloth and Wrath proceed to the house and then it hit him. He would have to hide the girl.

He sprang up from his seat at the window and practically jumped over the bed to the side Winry was sleeping on. He shook her awake. "Wake up, brat," he said, urgently, "and whatever you do, don't make a sound."

Winry was still dumbfounded and half-asleep when Envy picked her up and ran out of the room with her in his arms. He didn't even bother taking the stairs, he just jumped from the railing up above and landed in the center of the living room below, unscratched. Winry was now awake and wide-eyed. "What's going on?" she managed to say before Envy spotted where he was going to hide her.

He didn't answer her. He placed her in front of the chest she had seen earlier and backed away from it, saying, "Now, I want you to open it up and hide inside. Don't say a word while you're in there, you hear?"

"But why?"

"Just do it!"

Winry opened the chest and found that inside it was a few oddities that looked very old. A pile of dusty, moth-eaten cloths, a wedding ring, an old pocket watch, a little box tied up with a faded ribbon and something else that looked like it had been placed there recently. It was another small box. Winry looked back at Envy, who was watching her to make sure she did as she was told, but the expression on his face was pure horror.

She wanted to ask him, but she heard the door get kicked in with a loud crash. Winry jumped in the chest and hurriedly closed the heavy lid of it down. She heard Envy tell her, "Whatever happens don't you dare come out of there until I say, got it?"

Inside the chest was dark, but Winry could see through bug-eaten holes where she could just make out Envy standing in the center of the living room with his face and body set like he was ready to fight.

Envy waited as fast, heavy footsteps brought Wrath into the living room. He had a look of triumph on his big-eyed face that Envy would have dearly loved to smash in. "Mommy, mommy, I found him!"

A puddle formed in the middle of the floor beside Wrath and lifted itself to change into Sloth. Envy realized she must have been searching downstairs. "That's a good boy, Wrath," Sloth said, as Wrath smiled his sharp-toothed smile at Envy.

Envy decided to play like he didn't know what they had been up to. He pretended to relax a little. "Oh, it's just you, Sloth," he said, frowning, "I thought it was a robber. I was going to have some fun."

"Sorry to ruin your entertainment, Envy," Sloth said, blandly, "but we have other matters to discuss with you."

Envy knew from the sound of her words Dante had sent them to punish him. But what did they have planned? Whatever it was, they were welcome to try. Envy bared his pointed teeth.

"If it's about the girl," Envy's lip curved up a bit, "I lost her trail a few hours ago and came back here. I think she may be headed to that brat's teacher's house. You know, the one Wrath called mommy before you?"

Inside the trunk, Winry blinked. How did Envy know about that?

"That's all very well, Envy," Sloth said, indifferently, "but Dante's not interested in the girl anymore."

Envy was caught off guard. His lips thinned to a frown as his eyes narrowed in irritation. "She's not? Then, why did she want me to trail the human in the first place?"

Sloth didn't reply, but a small smile spread itself across her lips. She closed her eyes and gave a low, short chuckle. Envy watched her in confusion. He hated being caught off guard, and now he was certain that whatever Sloth and Wrath had been sent here to do, it was not in Envy's best interest. He couldn't deny the evil glint in Wrath's eyes as he sneered at him with clenched pointed teeth. Dante had given them an order against him. That much was for sure.

Envy's expression darkened to a look that would have made anyone else run for their life.

"Don't look so offended, Envy. Besides, our master doesn't have anything else for you to do at the moment. The Elric brothers have caught her attention right now, and they're not making any progress either," Sloth said with a mocking smile.

"Oh, so she thinks I'm not making any progress, huh?" Envy said. His frown deepened. "Well, you can carry this message on to her: If she thinks that of me, she should take me off this stupid mission and order me to do something that's not so boring!"

"That's just the type of attitude that gets you where you are," Sloth said as her smile faded slightly. She looked like she had shared a little too much information. Envy took this moment to pick at her mistake. "And where exactly _am I_, Sloth?"

Sloth's frown deepened at her own slip up. She let out a low hiss in frustration. "Wrath."

Wrath bounded forwards. His violet eyes were wild. Envy jumped out of the way of his fist and kicked him so hard the child flew sideways into the wall. The drywall buckled under the force and created a crater around the boy's limp body. Wrath regained himself just enough to looked up in fury at his opponent and shakily bring himself to his feet.

"That wasn't very nice, Envy," Sloth commented. Her smile had returned.

"Try all you want, kid. I'm still much stronger than you," Envy snarled as Wrath healed and came at him again. This time he had transmuted his arm into a blade like Edward so often did. Envy dodged his swing easily and kicked him again. This time, Wrath went flying in the other direction and went through the window into the yard below.

"Now, now, Envy, do try and be civil to the child," Sloth said, smirking.

"Shut up!" Envy snapped, "You obviously didn't come here to check up on me."

Envy suddenly found he couldn't move. He looked down and saw that Sloth had wrapped her liquefied body around him. She had either gotten much faster than she used to be, or his strength was starting to fade out. He knew Sloth had been fed red stones before she left their master, while Envy hadn't had any in a long while. It was because of that reason Envy knew Sloth had a greater advantage over him.

"Actually, it's quiet the opposite," Sloth replied to his question. Envy felt the water pressure increase and his ribs threaten to crack. "Let go of me," he managed to say, "or you'll regret it."

"Oh, I don't think so," Sloth said. She lifted his body with her water one so his feet no longer touched the floor. Envy started to panic. He now knew exactly what was happening and the array on the floor and ceiling behind him was conveniently accessible. He now regretted ever coming here at all. Did he not realize the danger he had been submitting himself to when he knew that Dante always kept a seal array in her house? Of course, he didn't actually realize she would use it against _him_. Not the homunculus who took after her own _son_.

"You're the oldest homunculus, Envy," Sloth said, "You should be proud you lasted this long under the guidance of our master."

"She can't deny I am useful to her," Envy snapped. His voice was weak under the pressure his lungs were being subjected to, "More useful than you and your human-wanna-be _pet_ put together!"

The pressure increased and he felt a hot pain as his ribs started to crack. Envy gritted his teeth at the pain and tried to shallow his breathing. Sloth smiled at his obvious suffering as beads of sweat started to form on his face. "I can tell master hasn't gifted you with any stones for a long time," she smirked, "this is going to be easier than I thought."

Envy tried to ignore the pain in his body as his expression turned smug. His violet eyes narrowed and flashed maliciously in the dying light of the fire he had started much earlier that evening. "You know, Sloth," he said, through a constantly pressured chest, "As the oldest homunculus, red stones don't really do much to enhance my power. The older you grow the more stable and consistent your strength and your emotions tend to become. It was a very big mistake to pick a fight with me."

Sloth didn't look at all worried. "Maybe, but your forgetting one thing," she said, as Envy, with a burst of strength, broke apart from her water chains to lunge at her, "I'm the not the only homunculus you're up against!"

Envy had almost forgotten about Wrath, who had jumped back in through the window and launched himself at Envy. Without having had the time to heal his ribs and being caught by surprise, Envy was thrown back from Sloth as Wrath attached himself to his chest and started beating him in the face. They landed on the edge of the array, but Envy was too preoccupied with Wrath to notice this dire detail.

"Get off me, you brat!" Envy growled as his body healed itself and he threw Wrath off of him with such force the boy crashed yet again into another wall. Envy stood up in time to duck a water whip from Sloth.

"My, my, I have to give you credit, Envy," Sloth said, "Not many are brave enough to fight two homunculi at once."

"I've fought and destroyed many homunculi before you, Sloth, don't forget that," Envy smirked, "If you have what it takes to defeat me then you deserve to. But I promise you, it won't be easy."

"Really?" Sloth said, producing what looked like a bag of dust from her pocket. Envy froze in horror on the spot, "Oh, but I think I do have what it takes."

Envy wasn't stupid. His bones, reduced to dust, the seal array and Wrath who could perform alchemy. It was all they needed to get rid of him. He would just have to make sure he didn't step into the array. He decided to show Sloth a sly grin instead. "Well, that's impressive. I haven't seen my bones in centuries. I wonder where that wench has been hiding them all this time."

"I'm going to give you one last chance to tell me where you last saw the girl," Sloth said. Envy blinked in confusion. "But I thought our master had no interest in her," he said, and then added, darkly, "unless you lied to me?"

"Well, the Elric's do love her dearly and it would be a shame for such a valuable hostage to escape from under our noses. Especially, when the most acclaimed homunculus of all of us was supposed to be watching her," Sloth smirked, "It really does put a damper on our ego, you know."

Envy growled, "How should I know where that worm ran off to?"

Envy knew no matter what he told Sloth, she would kill him – or try to – anyway. So, he was going to make her job as difficult as possible.

"Master will be very upset to here that," Sloth replied, indifferently.

"That's too bad," Envy smirked, "You can tell that bitch I don't give a damn what she thinks anymore."

"Now, now, Envy," Sloth smiled mockingly at him, "that's no way to treat your mother."

Envy's eyes widened in shock and he stared over at Sloth in disbelief. How did she know about his past? Dante must have told her. His moment of shock was his greatest mistake. Before he could react, Wrath had used the floor and his alchemy to stab at Envy. Envy was too quick for him, so he jumped back to avoid it. However, his luck had run out.

He had landed in the center of the array.

Sloth threw the bag of bone dust at him. When Envy tried to whip it away with his arm it burst into a cloud in his face. It got into his eyes and mouth. It stung like hot coals upon his skin. He was blinded. He fell to his knees, trying to wipe it out of his mouth and eyes frantically. His body felt like it was on fire.

"Wrath, do it now," Sloth ordered calmly. The child skipped excitedly to the edge of the array. Envy peered through his half-closed eyelids at the big-eyed homunculus. "Don't you even –," he tried to threaten, but it was too late. The Flamel glowed brightly around the homunculus trapped within.

* * *

**Leonahari: **I know the timing was off a bit in this chapter. For example, it probably would have taken Sloth and Wrath a little longer to get to Dante's, but it was necessary that they arrived earlier.

It's too bad spring break is over... *cries* I was looking forward to writing more. From here on in my updates may take a little longer. Of course.... if you want me to update faster, you could always review. Reviews always make me write faster. Oh, and I promise I will reply to them. Anyhow, cheers!


	4. Inverse Invidia

**Chapter 4: Inverse of Invidia **

Wrath slapped his human hand onto the floor and the array lit up in bright blue light. Envy's face contorted in agony as Sloth and Wrath watched him cough up the stones of his life. Wrath's expression was one of wide-eyed excitement. His violet eyes glinted with malice at the violently shaking form of Envy, who was now curled into a fetal position on the floor.

The array finally faded out as all the stones from Envy's body were expelled. A calm look of indifference was etched into Sloth's features as she said, "Good work, Wrath, my dear." Wrath's grin widened in response.

"How do you feel, Envy?" Sloth smiled coolly, "Unfortunately for you, those dust particles that made it into your body will slowly seep into your blood steam and kill you. It's kind of ironic, isn't it? When you were human, you died of mercury poisoning. This is almost just the same."

"Damn you," Envy managed, but his voice was weak. He could feel the white hot pain throughout his body, but his eyes no longer stung. The stones he had lost had made him physically unable to move. He could barely breathe without suffering through the pain of effort that his muscles took to move his lungs.

"Of course, I could make it quick for you," Sloth said and Wrath chuckled darkly. "Do it, mommy!" he shouted excitedly.

Sloth gave a little chuckle and moved towards Envy slowly. Her eye caught the glint of steal and she noticed a cutlass sword on display. "Why don't we do this the old fashion way? I'm not one for torture so I plan to do this quickly," Sloth said, unsheathing the sword.

"He deserves worse," Wrath sneered, "Let me do it. I promise I won't take long. I just want to inflict more pain on him for all the times he's kicked me. Please, mommy! You have to let me to this!"

Envy looked up and gritted his teeth. He could barely move. "No, Wrath. I will do it," Sloth replied. Wrath fell silent, but he continued to glower at Envy.

Sloth took another step towards Envy and when she was close enough, she raised the blade and aimed to stab him through the chest. "Don't take this too personally, Envy," Sloth said with a cold smile. She readied the sword in her hands firmly.

"Get away from him!"

Winry had jumped out of the chest. In her arms she held as many of the old gadgets from the chest as she could hold. She held them all out before her body. Envy's eyes darted from Sloth to Winry and back again in shock.

"Well, Envy. How would you like to explain this?" Sloth said, dropping the sword lamely to her side. She seemed to have forgotten all about killing him and instead turned her attention on Winry. "Now, that you're here and so conveniently too…"

Sloth turned to Wrath who immediately lunged forward and came at Winry with a wild look in his eyes. Winry closed her eyes and gripped the contents of the chest closer to her body. Before anyone could say anything, Wrath came to a dead stop in front of her and took a few steps back. A look of horror spread over his face. His violet eyes widened at the dusty pile of items in Winry's arms.

He pointed at them and cried, "Mommy! She knows! She knows our weakness!"

Sloth froze too. "Wrath, get away from her," she ordered sternly.

Winry glared across at the two homunculi. Her plan working! "I didn't know this before, but I know now," she said, "you homunculi are weak against any reminder of the person you were created from."

Wrath balled his fists and shouted, "You will pay for that!" But Sloth turned to Wrath, "Wrath, it's time to go."

She dropped the sword near Envy's shaking body and morphed into her water being. Wrath took off and disappeared out the front door. Winry, whose knees were shaking, finally let herself drop to the floor with a deep sigh of relief. She looked over to Envy, who was still lying in the center of the array. His eyes were cracked open. The violet orbs that watched her were weak and faded.

She left the items near the chest where they belonged and crawled over to Envy. "Is there something I can do?" she said, gently. She expected his body to become surrounded in blue light and heal itself as it had done before, but it was not happening. Had Sloth been right about Envy? Was he now going to die by those bone particles in his body?

Suddenly, Envy started to chuckle. It was weak, but it was still laughter. Unfortunately, Winry hadn't caught the joke. "A human helping _me_, the tormentor of humanity? This really is the end of the world," he said.

"I don't understand," Winry said, as Envy weakly sat up, "I thought Sloth said you'd die even if she left you? She said those fragments are like poison to you."

Envy laughed again, but this time he coughed a bit at the end. He flinched at the pain it inflicted on him. "Maybe it would have if she had used _my_ bones and not someone else's. It's too bad. I was going to attack her when her back was turned."

"But you looked like you were in pain!" Winry spat. Anger flooded her. She had risked her life for him, and he couldn't even say thank you. Ungrateful bastard.

"Have you ever had sand in your eyes, dim wit? Of course it hurt," Envy said, rubbing his reddened eyes as he said it. However, he sighed and added, "But now I don't have any more red stones in my body, and that's not a good thing if they decide to come back."

"So, you're okay then?" Winry said, "You're not going to die?"

"No, I'm not," Envy said, matching her frown, "You look disappointed."

Winry bared her teeth. "I'm pissed off!" she snapped, "I saved your ass and you don't even have the decency to thank me!"

Envy blinked in shock, but he recovered quickly. "Careful," he sneered, "You're not needed by that wench anymore so I'm free to kill you if I want."

"You're a _fat liar_."

"What did you say?"

"I called you a liar," Winry said. A moment ago she would have been terrified of Envy, but now she had a reason to believe Envy would not lay a hand on her even though, now, he could. "You had the chance to kill me a million times over and you haven't yet. You even made me hide in a chest full of all those sentimental pieces, because you knew even if they found me they wouldn't be able to go near me. So, saying that you're going to kill me now is a load of crap!"

"Did I ever tell you that you give me a headache?" Envy said, rubbing the back of his spiky-haired head.

"Because I'm right and you know it," Winry said, crossing her arms triumphantly. Envy ignored her. He shrugged weakly, stood up and slowly walked away from her. Once he was safely out of the array he collapsed again and sighed in relief. Winry watched him. She was at a loss of what to do. He said he wouldn't die, but his weakness unnerved her.

The moonlight poured in through the broken window casting them in silvery light. The coals from the fire were too low now to break through the dense darkness that had surrounded them. Winry saw Envy through the darkness. His skin was pale silver in the moonlight. His body was still shaking from the pain he had endured.

"I thought you could heal yourself?" Winry asked.

"My body did heal itself," Envy replied, "but my body craves the red stones now that I have none."

"Red stones? Wrath mentioned something about red stones. So, homunculi eat them for strength?" Winry mumbled as a few more things fitted together in her mind.

"That's right, and if we eat them on regular bases it enhances our power," Envy explained. He lifted himself onto the couch. Winry noticed the change in his violet eyes as he looked up at her. They were softer and not as menacing. They no longer held the anger that had plagued them since she knew him. Winry also noted, with a little embarrassment, that she found them rather stunning. She had never met anyone with such an exotic eye color.

"So, other than that a homunculus is similar to a human being then," Winry said thoughtfully gazing into his violet orbs from the center of the array where she still sat.

"And the fact that we don't have souls," Envy corrected her. He leaned back in the couch and stretched out his tender muscles.

"I don't believe that," Winry suddenly said. Envy smirked, showing her a few of his sharp teeth. "Believe what you want, but we've already had this argument and I'm not one to repeat myself," he said. Winry knew the conversation had closed… again.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Winry mumbled. She looked down at the array etched into the floor and sighed.

"I'm surprised you even asked," Envy replied. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He knew that in doing this he left himself defenseless but he couldn't keep his head up any longer. "You could have just taken off by now. If you haven't noticed I'm in no shape to follow you."

"I'm not leaving you like this," Winry said, stubbornly. Envy raised his head curiously, but he couldn't see her face. She was staring down at the ground, her hair fell before her face and her fists balled in determination.

"Why not?"

Winry didn't really know the answer to that herself. All she knew was that it just felt like the right thing to do. "I don't really know," she said, "All I know for sure is that throughout my life, I've sat back and watched things happen without even doing anything about it. I know the man who shot my parents during the war in Ishbal and I can't even face him. I respect him for some reason I can't explain. And besides fixing Edwards arm a hundred times, I've never really felt like I could do anything useful until now. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm needed and I'm not about to turn away."

"Am I supposed to feel sympathetic?" Envy's lip curved up in a would-be smirk, but his expressions lacked their usual animation due to his state of weakness. "You can think what you want, but I don't need you to take care of me, dim wit."

Winry would have slapped him if he had been in a healthier state. Instead, she chose to ignore him and go with her gut feeling. She sensed Envy's embarrassment. He hated to be in debt to anyone. Given his name, Winry figured it was his nature. She stood up and walked over to him. He just glared at her through half-closed eyelids. "I'm going to make you something to eat," she said, sternly, "and you're going to shut up and eat it."

"You can't tell me what to do," Envy said, closing his eyes stubbornly, "I don't take orders from anyone now."

"Okay, then, I'll make _myself_ something and you can sit here and _watch_ me eat it," Winry said with a sly grin. Without another word she stormed off into the kitchen, leaving a very stunned homunculus to stare after her.

* * *

"Winry Rockbell?" Feury said thoughtfully after leaving the Colonel's office. They had had a brief chat regarding Edward Elric's mechanic, and Mustang pledged, girlfriend. According to Sciezka, who had been with Winry two days ago, Winry had left for the library in the dead of night and never returned.

"Did you mention Winry Rockbell, granddaughter of Pinnoco Rockbell?"

Sergeant Feury's expression fell as he realized who had been standing directly behind him when he said it. He turned to greet Major Armstrong with a not-too-energetic salute. "Sir."

"Is there something the matter, Sergeant Feury?" Armstrong smiled warmly at him from under his blonde mustache.

"Not really, sir. I've been assigned to a new mission by the Colonel and I was just thinking out loud," Feury replied.

"And the mission has something to do with the sweet Miss Winry Rockbell?"

"Well, yes, sir. In fact, she's been reported missing by one of the military's recent employees. Edward and Alphonse are looking for her too. Nobodies seen or heard from her in a full two days," Feury explained.

Then, it hit him like a slap in the face. He had bumped into Winry in the station just yesterday! He had been in too much of a hurry to stop and properly say hello, but he knew it had been her. "Major! I saw her in the station! I remember now!"

"In the station, you say? But where was she going without telling the Elrics?" Armstrong replied.

"I can't remember, but I know the time I passed through there," Feury replied.

"I will accompany you to the station in the morning, Sergeant," Armstrong said, "No need to worry! We'll find poor Winry Rockbell and bring her back safely."

"Yes, sir…"

* * *

"Here," Winry shoved a plate full of cooked food under Envy's nose. He had sat there for the last half and hour wondering what she could possibly make for herself. He could smell the mouth watering scent wafting from the kitchen. Now, he saw it had been a mixture of whatever she had found in the fridge, but it looked so good and smelt even better.

He took the plate without complaint, wondering what her reason could be for helping him. It wasn't like he'd die if he was left on his own. That would probably have been a blessing. Winry sat on the opposite end of the couch with her plate on her lap. Envy watched her to make sure she took the first bite before he started.

It was an old habit of his.

As Winry ate, she couldn't shake the feeling of wariness. She was not completely ignorant of the homunculus sitting next to her and the danger that presented. However, something in the back of her mind made her stay. It was a memory; a memory of Izumi's son before he became Wrath.

Winry couldn't pin-point why the memories of his peaceful existence stuck with her, but it did. She assumed it inspired hope in her. Hope that suggested that there was more to the homunculi than what first meets the eye. She believed it was also the reason Envy hadn't killed her.

"Sloth said something earlier," Winry said, quietly, she couldn't look at him so she stared down at her plate instead, "about your death by mercury poisoning."

"It doesn't concern you," Envy warned, darkly.

Winry ignored him and continued, "Mercury hasn't been used for anything besides alchemy in a long time. How old did you say you were again?"

Envy almost choked. He swallowed, hit his chest and glared over at Winry, whose cheeks were as red as fire. "I know it's rude to ask, but I'm only curious," she added with a grin.

Envy only smirked. "Hmph, I'm much older than you are," he said with a sideways glance at her, "but as I said, it's none of your business."

Winry was surprised he hadn't hit her. It only further solidified her theory of the homunculus not being what or who they are perceived to be. Ever since she started remembering Wrath and how he had been before he was given red stones, Winry suspected the sins, Envy, Sloth and Wrath had been named after, had a virtuous side. However, it seemed to her that the only way to prove this theory was to find out how they acted before they had eaten the red stones.

With that thought, Winry concluded that the only real reason she could think of to stay with Envy was to find out how long it would take for the absence of the red stones to take affect. After it did, she would find out if she was right or wrong.

Winry smirked and looked over at Envy who was shoveling food into his mouth at lightning speed. "Did you know the opposite of envy is compassion?" she asked, with an evil glint in her eyes.

Envy choked for the second time that meal. He stopped coughing to glare over at her. "Do you want a cookie?" he snapped sarcastically, "Now shut up and let me eat my dinner in peace."

Winry knew he didn't catch the implication.

Winry had finished already and she placed her plate on the coffee table before them. Unfortunately, Envy wasn't much of a conversationalist when it came to things Winry found interesting like his past and the homunculi in general. Then, Envy finished eating and frowned in deep thought at the plate's emptiness. Winry wondered if he was still hungry.

He seemed to be feeling better.

Figuring it was nothing too important as long as he wasn't still writhing in agony, Winry stood and stretched. "Man, I'm beat," she yawned. She glanced at Envy who was still staring at his plate in deep thought, "Can I go to bed without you watching me for once?"

Envy didn't hear her. He didn't even realize he had been staring for that long. He was thinking about what Sloth had said and the reason Dante had sent Sloth and Wrath to kill him. Envy wasn't a fool. He knew Dante killed off the homunculi if they failed in their duties one too many times. He just never believed she would do it to him, the only homunculus who had any connection to her past besides Hohenhiem.

Maybe it had been as simple as Winry had put it, Envy thought. He wasn't ignorant of the fact that homunculi were _not_ born into sin. They were _created_ into sin by being fed red stones. When a homunculus is first born they are born into a virtue and can be, with the addition of red stones, changed to a sin. It was something he'd known for a long time, but hadn't bothered to revisit until now.

He couldn't remember when he had ever been a virtue, because Dante had raised him with red stones from the beginning. Now that he was no longer being sustained by the stones or Dante's care, if any could call it that, Envy didn't really know what would happen. Was it a quick transition like after Wrath had eaten the stones? Did you transform immediately or was it slow; a change in him that would take place over time so he wouldn't notice it ever had?

"You must be tired."

Envy snapped out of his muse and realized that Winry had been talking to him. He looked up at her with a blank expression. "What?"

Winry couldn't help but giggle at his obvious embarrassment. It was a look on him she had never seen before. Envy didn't take to being laughed at well. He frowned and his eyes became guarded again like they always were. "Sorry to interrupt you," Winry said playfully, "but you didn't hear me at all?"

Envy stood up and stared to walk away from her. "You couldn't have said anything too important anyways, so it doesn't matter," he replied as he ascended the stairs.

Winry followed him, fuming. She balled her fists. "You're such an ungrateful ass, you know that?" she snapped, "I should have just let that homunculus stab you."

They had reached the top of the stairs and Winry had not expected what came next. At her outburst, Envy rounded on her and furiously pinned her between the wall and his arms. The expression he wore was dark and malicious, and his face was set about a couple inches from hers. Winry let out sharp gasp in surprise at the fear he inspired in her, yet there was another feeling running through her body at the same time. She couldn't name it because she'd never felt it before. All she knew was that when Envy leaned in and hissed dangerously in her ear, "You forget I could kill you at any moment now that I'm free," a shiver ran down her spine.

Winry noticed, without thinking about the dangers Envy presented, that he had a speck of blood on his face from his beating. She didn't know what made her do it, but she lifted her hand to the side of his face and wiped it off gently. The touch sent a shock through her entire body and she froze when she realized what she was doing.

Winry wasn't the only one shocked though. Envy's dark expression changed within a second of noticing her touch. He now looked in complete loss for what to do and how to react. It was almost the same blank expression he had worn after he had snapped out of his mental muse.

The touch was so foreign to Envy. He was shocked into silence. His mind could not register what to do next. He knew he should pull away from her and put some distance between them, but at the same time apart of him _enjoyed_ the feeling of her skin on his own. It was a feeling he had never experienced before except for when he was fighting with someone, but that was different type of touch. Winry's hand was gentle and kind. Two things Envy had never been subjected to, and he was horrified to find that he _liked_ it.

Winry was surprised to note his skin was soft and warm. She hadn't been expecting anything in particular but if she had she would have thought his skin to be like ice because he wasn't human. However, it was just the contrary.

Winry was also able to get a good look at Envy's violet eyes while he was so close to her. She was right when she originally thought they were stunning. She felt as if they were somehow a form of exotic beauty she had never witnessed before. They were, for the moment, softer than usual. Envy didn't seem to be focused on anything in particular. His mind, Winry assumed, was most likely more interested her touch than what he could see with his eyes. Touch, she figured, had never been so gentle for Envy.

Acting on pure impulse, as Winry knew she always did, she brought her other hand up and held his face between them. As she did this, she studied his face curiously. His eyes closed. Envy silently immersed himself in a strange, yet enjoyable experience. Her touch caused every last inkling of pain he had left in his body to disappear. In its wake a new feeling coursed through him.

Before Winry realized what she was doing, she pulled his face towards her own. Envy didn't resist, because he still had his eyes closed and hadn't expected what came next. When their lips met it was hard to define exactly what ran through Envy's mind that moment. Winry had been shocked and overwhelmed by her own bravery, but she suddenly found that contrary to what she might have thought, his lips were warm and inviting. She let her body and mind relax.

The kiss didn't last for very long.

Envy had snapped back to reality and sprang away from Winry as fast as he could, leaving her to stare back at him in confusion. Envy had enjoyed it. He couldn't deny that fact. However, he didn't feel comfortable.

He felt the tilt of power and control between them switch. It was as though the table had finally turned on him, but now, another human was holding the leash. He didn't like it in the least. As was his nature, he loathed it completely.

Winry dropped her gaze to the floor and ran for the bedroom doorway. Envy distantly heard her say goodnight to him before she shut the door behind her with a snap.

* * *

Envy had spent the night staring through the broken living room window. By the time the morning dew had formed and the sun had risen and pooled into Dante's mansion, he had decided to head back to Central. Not because he planned to go back to Dante. No, it was rather the opposite. Envy planned to kill Dante and make her pay for turning her back on him just as Hohenhiem once did.

However, first thing was first. Envy had to get rid of Full Metal's mechanic.

He wasn't going to kill her. He just wanted to drop her off in Central where she could go back to living her pointless existence as Full Metal's sidekick. That way, Envy wouldn't have any more weaknesses to deal with, and he admitted rather timidly that Winry was a weakness to him. He had never allowed anyone to get that close to him, emotionally or physically, and he started to hate her for it.

Envy didn't like being caught off guard. He felt it placed him in submission.

"Morning."

Envy shot up in surprise.

Winry grinned at him through a mass of messy bed hair. "You've been doing that a lot lately. Staring off, I mean."

_You don't know me. _Envy frowned at her observation. "We're going back to Central today," he announced. He stepped from the edge of the window and passed by her without another word.

Winry just stared at him. His cold shoulder was something she was used to, but after last night she figured a few things would have changed between them. Obviously, she was wrong.

"Wait a second," she said, planting her feet into the floor as she prepared herself to argue him, "Back to Central? Does that mean you're letting me go?"

Envy didn't reply. He stalked away from her. He was not in the mood to argue with her.

* * *

Edward barged through the front door making Sciezka drop the book she had been holding in surprise. He stormed into the living room where she stood. He was fuming and Sciezka thought she saw steam billowing from his ears.

"Please, brother, control yourself!" Alphonse said as he tailed behind his brother.

Sciezka went ghostly pale. "Is everything okay guys?"

Edward balled his fists. "You told _Mustang_ about Winry's disappearance?"

Sciezka's heart fell to the bottom of her stomach. She suddenly regretted getting involved. She assumed the Colonel had had a chat with Edward regarding the situation and it hadn't gone so well. "I'm sorry, but you guys still haven't found her and I am worried that by the time you find her something might have happened," Sciezka mumbled.

Edward was red in the face. "That bastard didn't even take your call seriously," he said, "and I just had to sit through a two hour lecture on how to keep a girlfriend! That is exactly the reason I didn't want him to get involved."

"But he told me he'd send Sergeant Feury out to investigate," Sciezka countered. Then, her heart dropped. Had Mustang told her that to get off the phone?

"Brother's right," Alphonse agreed calmly, "Colonel Mustang has a lot on his plate right now. He probably doesn't realize the seriousness of the situation."

"Well, I think it's about time you guys make him believe it's serious, because we still haven't found Winry," Sciezka snapped.

The phone suddenly rang. All three of them stared at it before Edward sighed and picked it up. He braced himself for a military official or, worse, Mustang. "Hello?"

"_Edward what the hell is going on?" _

Edward's anger dissipated. He felt his blood turn to ice as he realize who was really calling. _Screw Mustang, this is _much _worse! _

"Oh, hi, teacher," he winced. He noticed Alphonse shrink into a corner of the room as if he was afraid Izumi would transport herself through the phone line and attack them.

"_Don't you 'hi teacher' me, Edward! Sig just told me that Major Armstrong called the shop this morning wondering if Winry had been by to visit. He sounded worried and I want to know what the hell is going on over there!" _

"What? Why would Armstrong call you in Dublith?" Edward wondered out lout. Alphonse and Sciezka exchanged a look.

"_How should I know? Don't tell me you've gotten yourselves into more trouble." _

Edward knew that if he lied to Izumi she would only find out and beat him for it. There was no choice now but to tell her the truth. "No, teacher. Al and I are fine, but a couple of days ago Winry left to go out and never came back." He heard a sharp intake of breath from Izumi. "We've been looking for her since, but we haven't found her and she hasn't tried to contact anyone," he added.

Silence. Edward waited patiently for Izumi's reply. He was ready to take all the yelling she had to throw at him. However, when she spoke her voice was soft and troubled, _"You've looked everywhere in Central?" _

"Yeah," Edward replied, "We even asked around, but nobodies seen her. Al and I thought maybe the homunculi are keeping her captive, but we would have heard something from them by now if that was the case. I don't know what to do, teacher. I don't know where else to look."

He heard Izumi sigh. _"I will help you. Sig said Major Armstrong thinks she's here because a Sergeant saw her boarding a train two days ago for Dublith."_

"Wait!" Edward gasped, "Dublith? Why would Winry go there on her own?"

"_She wouldn't, Edward. That's why I think you and Al are right when you said you suspect the homunculi have her," _Ed could almost hear her frown, _"Dante's house is on the edge of Dublith as you know. I went up there last night to visit her grave and noticed someone had broken a window and a light was on in one of the bedrooms upstairs."_

"Did you find out who it was?" Edward said, with wide-eyed curiosity.

"_No. Sig and I went back up there in the morning and it was empty. Whoever was there last night left early this morning and left a hell of a mess." _

"You think it was Winry?" Edward asked hopefully.

"_I don't know, Ed, but whoever it was didn't steal anything, except a few things from an old chest," _Izumi said, as a matter-of-factly, _"and the strange thing is that the living room walls were completely destroyed. It looked as if someone had driven a bulldozer into them."_

Edward felt the color drain from his face. The only two types of people he knew with that sort of destructive power were state alchemists and the homunculi. If it had been a state alchemist, thanks to Sciezka and Armstrong, they would have caught them by now. Edward frowned. That meant the homunculi were the final suspect.

"Thanks, teacher," he nodded, gratefully, "That helps a lot."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Edward wasn't sure if Izumi had hung up yet or not. He waited patiently for a sign, while Al and Sciezka stood rigidly for some sort of confirmation.

"_Ed," _Izumi finally said, quietly, _"there's something I need to tell you about the homunculi, but I would rather talk to you face to face about it."_

Edward frowned. "About the homunculi? Sure. Al and I will come out to Dublith and visit you, and while we're there we can look for Winry."

"_No, Ed. I'll come to you in Central. If Winry really was here with a homunculus, she's not anymore," _Izumi said, thoughtfully, _"Sig plans to go through and fix up Dante's house in her memory. He'll keep his eyes open for clues while he's there." _

"Okay," Edward replied.

"_I'll see you soon, Ed." _Izumi muttered. Then, she quickly added, _"And don't get into any trouble before I get there!" _

_Click._

_

* * *

__**Leonahari: Sorry this took so long! Argh! Midterms are hell. Anyhow, done them for now. Thanks to my faithful reviewers! **  
_


	5. Ghost in the Mirror

**Chapter 5: Ghost in the Mirror**

_Winry Rockbell sat at the kitchen table with her fists clenched and her head down on the tear-soaked surface. Her grandmother stood beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder and somber frown on her face. The house was quiet until the Elric brothers dashed through the front door with reddened cheeks and wide smiles. They broke the temporary frost within the air with their cheerfulness. _

_Winry looked up at them through watering eyes. She loved them with all her heart, but something inside her wanted to hate them. _

_They were happy, they had a mother. _

_A flash of light illuminated the plain little kitchen until it was drowned out. Winry stood in the center of white nothingness. She couldn't take the loneliness any longer. She sobbed harder and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms about herself. She wanted to curl up and stay there forever. _

_There was a moment where she felt nothing, and then…She was being held by someone whose arms bore her with inhuman strength. The touch was not gentle, but it didn't hurt her either. It was awkward, like whoever held her was having trouble controlling his power. He didn't want to break her and at the same time he wished for nothing else. _

_Winry felt so fragile there in his arms with the inhuman strength cradling her as if he wished to hold the pieces that were left of her together. _

_Then, Edward's voice rang through the white nothingness like a timing bell going off in some distant room. "Homunculi are wicked creatures probably created somewhere like laboratory five. They aren't human, they have no soul; they are just creatures driven by madness and hatred." _

_Winry finally opened her eyes to see if she could find Edward standing alone in the nothingness. They could keep each other company. They had always been together when times felt empty and void of hope. However, Winry didn't see Edward. The eyes she gazed into were violet, shrouded by a mass of spiky hair. _

_The person holding her was just as unnatural as his green hair; unnatural, but flawless. He gazed down on her as if she was a broken doll that he had treasured all his life. His eyes were not drowned in anger or hatred like Winry had expected. Instead they were saddened by something deeper. He whispered words to her that made Winry gasp in shock. _

_Words that, as a soulless creature, he had no hope of ever understanding. _

_Winry realized she could taste blood. Her mind was fading with weakness. She then understood the sadness in his eyes. _

_She suddenly felt tiny hands grab at her body. Envy tightened his grip on her. The inhuman strength he possessed pulled her even closer to his body, but the tiny hands were threatening to pull her away. _

_Winry looked down and saw the little arms with fingers wrapping themselves tightly around her body. They were thin shadows upon her skin. She looked across the sea of whiteness to find a tall doorway standing stark upon the bright background. It struck a terrible fear in her heart. The doors were opened wide and the hands were pulling her slowly towards the blackness, but Envy was fighting with them. _

_Then, the shadow of the gate succeeded and stole Winry from the protective grasp. She watched fear stricken as she was pulled into the gate. Before the doors closed she watched as Envy lunged for her, but was shut out. Darkness surrounded her and she knew no more. _

"No!" Winry shot up in her seat.

Across from her, the handsome brown-eyed male, who had been casually leaning on the window watching the landscape pass by, gave a small gasp in surprise. "What the hell?"

Winry took a moment to get familiar with reality and settled back into her seat. She glanced over at the brunette and gave him a weary smile. "Uh, bad dream."

"No shit," he blatantly replied.

Thankfully no one was on the train besides them. Envy took this into consideration and changed back into his usual form. Winry found she couldn't look at him without recounting the dream she had had. It had been so real. She wondered offhandedly if Envy would protect her like he had done in the dream. When she remembered the image of the gate in her mind, she shivered. Envy had tried to pull her away from the hands, but he had been unsuccessful.

Edward had been there too. It was odd how the so-called enemy homunculus had tried to save Winry, but Edward had been nowhere to be found. Yet, she knew he had been there, watching perhaps. She frowned. What did it mean? She was never good at understanding the message in dreams, but she couldn't deny they meant something to her. One thing was obvious, however:

She had died.

Winry shivered and looked up to find a pair of violet eyes watching her curiously. When their gaze met, Envy suddenly glanced out the window like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have.

When they reached Central Station, Envy changed back into the tall brunette and he and Winry stepped onto the platform wordlessly. It was bustling with people and a few times, Winry knocked into them by accident as she tried to make her way out of the station. She almost tripped over a little boy, who ran past her and out of the station screaming, "Mommy, wait for me!"

Winry finally stepped into the sunlight and took a deep breath. "Wow, sure is busier than Dublith," she said. She turned around expecting to find the brunette standing behind her, but he wasn't there. She scanned through the mass of people, but she didn't see him anywhere. It took her a few minutes of searching before she finally realized Envy had left her.

"Winry!"

Winry suddenly found herself in a tight embrace. She stared at the woman's dark-haired braids before she realized it was Izumi. She hugged her back. Winry was a little confused over Izumi's enthusiasm, but she figured Izumi had heard about her disappearance. "Mrs. Izumi?"

Izumi pulled away from her, but continued to hold her by the shoulders as if she were resisting the temptation to shake her silly. "Where have you _been_?" she snapped, with wide-eyed concern. Winry was about to try and explain, but then Izumi spotted her the cuts on her hands and legs. "Never mind that for now," she said, "Let's get you home and washed up."

With that, Winry was pulled toward Central.

* * *

"Master! Master!" Gluttony bounded through the double doors at the end of the foyer and padded his fatness over to where Dante, Sloth and Wrath stood. They watched him with curious expressions.

"Wasn't Lust with you?" Dante snapped.

Gluttony stopped abruptly, wondering what to tell his master. "Uh…" Dante shook her head irritably, "Fools, both of them," she snarled, "First Envy and now Lust. Well, what is it, Gluttony?"

"I saw him! I saw Envy!" Gluttony announced proudly. Sloth froze. "He was at the train station with that girl. I saw him let her go."

Dante rounded on Sloth and Wrath furiously, "I thought you took care of him!"

Sloth dropped to her knees in a bow. "We used the bones and the Flamel, master. I don't understand. He should be dead by now."

Wrath looked between the three adults with big eyes. Dante bared her teeth at Gluttony, "And he let the girl live? He let her go?"

"Yes, master. She's here in Central now," he replied in a whinny tone.

"Did you see where Envy went?" Dante snapped.

"I don't know," Gluttony flinched at his failure, "I thought you were looking for the girl, so I came back here."

Dante let out a growl in frustration. "Can't you fools do anything right?" she cursed at them. Sloth and Gluttony dropped their gazes to the floor. Wrath, however, looked like he was going to start crying.

Dante sighed and closed her eyes in attempt to calm herself down. Then, she said, slowly, "Sloth, do what you need to do to get information on what the hell is going on out there. The girl will be staying with Full Metal and his brother. At the moment, I don't much care about anyone's safety."

"Yes, master, but what about the philosopher stone?" Sloth asked, "Don't you need Edward to continue his research?"

"There are plenty of others who are just as capable as Edward, but unfortunately I haven't the patience or the time for all of this foolishness. I will deal with them myself and we will have no setbacks. As for Envy and Lust, if you see them, make sure they don't screw things up for us. I don't know about Lust, but Envy will come back to me. His body is too accustomed to living on the stones I've always fed him. He won't last long on his own." Dante frowned and dismissed them with an irritable wave of her hand.

* * *

"Winry? Thank goodness you're okay." Despite his huge armored body, Alphonse lifted Winry off the ground in a bear hug.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Edward exclaimed after Winry gasped for breath and Alphonse let her down again.

"What happened to you?" Sciezka asked her with wide eyes, "Was it the…aliens?"

"Will you all just calm down. I'm fine," Winry said.

"Teacher, where did you find her?" Alphonse asked Izumi as though Winry couldn't answer for herself.

"We met at the station," Izumi replied. Then she turned to Winry, "You said you had just come back from Dublith, isn't that right?"

Winry sighed. She would have to tell them the entire account of what happened. Sciezka had set out tea and lunch for them, so they all sat around the table and listened to Winry as she told them how she was kidnapped by Envy and taken to a mansion below the city. Then, she explained, vaguely why they ended up going to Dublith and staying at an old mansion. Everyone listened with the similar stunned expressions and by the time Winry finished with Envy abandoning her at the station, she could already see questions on the tip of their tongues.

"He let you go?"

"He didn't kill you?"

"He didn't even lay a hand on you?"

"Are you _sure_ it was Envy and not someone else?"

"Shape shifting homunculus right?" Winry replied to Edward's last question, "And he said his name was Envy."

"Yeah, but I don't get it," Edward replied, "Envy is the worst of all of them. I'm surprised he let you live."

"But why would the other homunculi try and kill him, brother? I thought they were working together. It makes no sense," Al asked thoughtfully.

Edward glanced up from his mug of tea and asked again, "Are you sure that's what happened?"

Winry frowned. "You think I'm an idiot, Edward?" she snapped, irritably, "Sloth and Wrath fought him and then trapped him in a transmutation circle. But, before that Sloth threw fragments of some old bones at him and said it would kill him."

"But you said it was the wrong bones?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, Envy told me that the bones Sloth used weren't his, but if they were his he would have died," Winry replied. Ed and Al gasped in surprise.

"He told you that?" Alphonse turned to Edward, "Brother, that doesn't make sense. Why would Envy tell Winry the homunculi secret unless he wanted her to know?"

Edward stared into his cup for a moment before saying, "Winry, do you have those items from the chest with you?"

"Well, yeah, of course. After what happened I wasn't about to wander around unprotected, you know?" Winry grabbed her book bag and put it on the table. She pulled out all the contents that had been inside the chest. Everything was extremely old and dirty. Sciezka looked like she was going to have a fit over having them on the table. "Envy knew I took these things. He's the one who suggested it and helped me pack them," Winry told them.

"Wait so he touched them all?" Edward asked. Winry nodded.

"That means none of these things belonged to the person he was created from," Alphonse mused, "What I don't understand is why Envy helped you. I mean, we've met him before and he's not the type to help anyone but himself."

Winry stared down at her cup. Her tea had gone cold and she hadn't even sipped it yet. She wondered if she should tell them her thoughts on the subject of red stones, or if it was futile. What if her theory was wrong? She wouldn't want Ed or Al to think she had gotten soft around the edges for someone who had blood on his hands.

"There is something I came here to tell you about the homunculi, something I think everyone here should know," Izumi said, quietly, "I didn't think it was really important at first, when you boys found out about the connection between Wrath and my son, but now that Winry has stated a few of these things about Envy, I figure it's time to say it."

She pushed her cold tea away from her and stared across at Edward and Alphonse. "Homunculi are not born into sin," she started, "I hope you remember Wrath when we first found him. He was innocent and peaceful. Then, he told us that Envy had helped him remember where he is from and what he is. This remembering, it's another way for saying he was fed philosopher stones."

"Philosopher stones?" Edward gaped.

"The imitation ones, that is," Izumi corrected quickly, "Homunculi can eat them. It's like a drug for them. It enhances their power and allows their bodies to heal quicker than usual. However, there's a major side affect to eating the stones."

"Let me guess," Edward said, darkly, "it changes them. Makes them evil?"

Izumi nodded, confirming Winry's earlier theory. "Homunculi are… like humans. They are born innocent. They can grow up untainted as long as they are not being fed red stones. These sins the homunculi are named after are their primary trait while they are living off of the stones. I suspect that whoever has been feeding the stones to them recognizes the main trait in them and names them after it."

There was a short silence as everyone at the table stared at Izumi in disbelief. "So, the homunculi could be good?" Sciezka piped up.

"Did you know that the seven sins have seven contrasting virtues?" Izumi smiled, "The opposite of Wrath is peace; something he was before he was given red stones. It sounds like Envy hadn't had red stones in a while. I'm assuming that whoever is his master, thinks that by depriving him of red stones he will grow weak. While that is somewhat true, Envy will also start to take on personality traits that never used to belong to him. In a way, it will make him stronger."

Winry sat there remembering the moment between her and Envy last night. She had decided to leave that part out while she told them what had happened to her while she was gone. She didn't think they had to know that part.

What Izumi said about the homunculi taking on traits from their contrasting virtues made sense in Winry's mind. Envy would have never have taken care of her, saved her life or kissed her if he had been refreshed with red stones. She probably would have been dead.

Edward and Alphonse dove into a deep conversation on the topic with Izumi and Sciezka as the listener. But Winry stared off. What would Envy do now that he didn't have to look after her?

* * *

The café was closed, but Envy kicked open the door. He knew there was no alarm, and the owner had died only a couple weeks ago, by _his_ hand no less. He made himself a pot of coffee and returned to a booth with cold cream and a couple packets of sugar. It had started to rain heavily.

The clouds cast everything in a grey-blue light. It seemed the sky and Envy had something in common for the time being. Envy sipped at his coffee and stared out the window thoughtfully. He wasn't worried about where he would go now that he was no longer welcome back with the rest of the homunculi. Worrying about that was futile. He was the oldest of all of them, and he didn't need them or Dante's red stones.

He had vowed to himself not to go crawling back to her no matter what. However, he could not deny that the less his body craved the stones the more he remembered about his past. Oddly enough, even thinking about Hohenhiem didn't anger him any more. The loathing he had cherished towards his – no – _William's _father no longer held fast to his heartstrings.

Instead, there was pain of loss; an inkling of it. It was a feeling Envy was not familiar with, but he shrugged it off. He hadn't _lost_ anything. He was a replica of William Elric; nothing more than a ghost in the mirror. Eventually, he was destined to fade away into the background of eternal life, where he would live forever, pointlessly.

And that's when it hit him. It wasn't the fact that homunculi were soulless, but rather they lived a pointless existence. On a basic level, one could say they lived to die.

Envy wouldn't put up with that. He did not live to die. He lived for a purpose, and breaking away from Dante would be the first step towards achieving his life goal, whatever it may be.

"I didn't expect I'd find _you_ here."

Envy turned in his seat. He hadn't expected to run into anyone either, considering it was a closed building that had recently been on all the newspaper headlines in Central. Nobody was going to visit a haunted café besides those who were already considered ghosts.

Lust came and sat across from him looking like she enjoyed the rain as much as Envy did. She poured herself some of his coffee. "I thought you were watching the Full Metal, pipsqueak?" Envy asked her.

"I had to do something else," Lust said, "but I have a question for you first."

Envy's heart dropped. "I think I've had my share of answering questions this week," he said, "Stupid humans. They don't shut up, and the women are worse."

"I'm glad you opened the topic, because that's what I was going to ask about," Lust mumbled as she gazed out the window at the weather-beaten street outside, "I saw you release her in Central Station, Envy. Tell me, why did you let her go?"

"It doesn't matter," Envy replied, shortly. He took a sip from the coffee and dropped his gaze to the white-washed table beneath his coaster. He knew Lust wouldn't take that as an answer, but it was worth the effort.

As he expected, Lust leaned forward and studied him. "How long has it been since our master has given you any stones?" she suddenly asked.

Envy sighed. He picked up a biscuit and started to munch on it. He took his time in answering that question. He knew Lust noticed a change in him, hell, even he knew he had changed. He wasn't even upset that he hadn't gotten to kill that little blonde wench. Instead, he felt relieved that she was not his to look after any more.

"A while," he replied. He met Lust's gaze with cold indifference, "but that doesn't mean I've gotten any softer."

Unfortunately, Lust knew better than that. She knew the old Envy would have killed the girl, so she just gave him a small smile and said, "It hadn't even crossed my mind."

"Liar," Envy spat. Lust's smile widened.

"I'm glad you're finally able to understand what I've been tormenting you about all this time," she said, "Our master has not fed me red stones in a while now. The more I grow to no longer need them, the more I remember about my life before I was born, when I was human."

"You were never human, Lust, it's just a figment of your imagination," Envy said, coolly, "and stop referring to your master as 'ours'. I no longer take orders from that bitch."

Lust blinked in surprise. "Is that why you let the girl go?" she asked, "To spite Dante?"

Envy shook his head. His mind was as clouded as the sky outside. "I don't know," he said, "One moment I'm Dante's most prized right hand and then the next moment she's sending Sloth and that mommies boy to seal me."

"Well, you know better than all of us that she's _using_ us to better the ends for _herself_," Lust said, "when I found that out, I couldn't bring myself to follow her any longer. My heart yearns to be human, Envy. I can't live and be used by someone if I'm not receiving anything in return."

"Most wouldn't," Envy agreed. He looked sideways out the window.

"Then why did you for so long?"

Their eyes met for a moment, before Envy broke the contact and stared into his cup in deep thought. He didn't know why he was confiding in Lust of all people, but something in the back of his mind urged him to say what had been tormenting him for so long. He was embarrassed to admit it, especially to Lust, but there was no other reason in his mind for staying with Dante as he had. It pained him to realize that this had been the only thing keeping him from killing Dante and moving on with his own immortal existence.

It was the main reason he hated Wrath so much.

Envy had waited four hundred years by Dante's side, because in the back of his mind he believed it was his duty as her _son_.

He had been hopeful in the beginning of his meager existence that Dante would love him as her own, as Sloth pretended to do for Wrath. However, time after time Envy was disappointed.

When Envy realized Dante had sent two of the newer homunculi to kill him, he snapped. He was done with waiting for her love. Dante may have been William's mother and Envy a replica of him, but even though their memory was the same, they had no other emotional connection.

Envy suddenly realized that was why he felt loss. He hadn't lost a mother. He had lost hope in ever having a connection to who he had been created from. As a soulless being, it was the only thing that tied him to the world. Like the last of his safety rope had been cut and now he was free falling.

He would have to create his own identity now, and apart of him was terrified of doing so.

He realized Lust still waited for an answer. "Never mind," he said, simply. He didn't feel she needed to know any of his feelings. Despite the short answer, Lust's smile didn't fade. She knew from the way his eyes glazed over in thought that he had come to a conclusion on his own. She had finally succeeded in making him realize there was more to life than taking orders from Dante.

"You know, Envy," she said, playfully, "I like you better when you're not being driven by the stones."

Envy frowned over his mug of coffee. "And what's that supposed to mean?" he grumbled.

"You sound more humane," Lust replied for ironic appeal. She smirked and added, playfully, "And frankly, women are attracted to men who can communicate without placing unnecessary adjectives before the names of people they would rather kill."

For the first time, Envy grinned at her joke. Lust was a little relieved to see his reaction to her comment wouldn't be a violent one.

"Pity," he said, before taking another sip of coffee.

Silence fell between them. For once, Lust could say she respected the homunculus – no – the _man_ sitting across from her. Not because she feared him, but rather because she was finally able to connect with him on the topic that had been tormenting her mind.

His feedback, no matter how vague it was, motivated her even more to find out about her past and to not give up. "You know, Envy," she said offhandedly, "sometimes you can't follow your heart. You must lead it."

She looked over at the green haired homunculus expectantly. She hoped he would take her advice, because it was her way of telling him thank you. She watched his blank expression patiently. Then, Envy broke into a soft laugh, more like a snicker.

"Lust, you can't pretend to be human because you're not," he said, but his words were not as sharp as they could have been. Lust didn't take it to heart. She knew or suspected what was troubling his mind.

"I'm telling you to face what it is that has been plaguing your mind, Envy," she said, "and I have a good reason to believe that you care deeply for that girl, but you don't understand why."

Envy's snicker died out, but his smug expression was still evident on his lips. "Think what you want," he said, "but I have more important things to worry about. Dante thinks I'm dead, but it won't be long until she discovers I'm not. I can't wait to find out what she will do to Sloth and her pet when she does."

Lust gazed out the window. She knew Envy well. So, she knew Envy changed the subject on purpose. "She's probably found out that I'm not taking orders anymore either. It'll be safer if we work together on whatever it is we need to do," she suggested.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't need anyone's help," Envy replied, stubbornly, "The first thing I'm going to do is break into that bitch's hideout and smash it to bits."

"You won't make it out alive," Lust said, indifferently.

"I don't care," Envy said, coldly. His eyes shrouded in thought again, but this time his expression was menacing. "I want to witness her loose everything, and I want to be the one to take it all from her."

"Just as you lost everything, Envy?" Lust said, gently. Before Sloth, Lust had been the only other homunculus to know of Envy's past and where he came from. Envy had told her himself. He couldn't remember why he had decided to tell her. Lust just had a way of getting people to open up to her, in a way that annoyed Envy to the last straw.

So, it was no surprise to him when she decided to pull that card. He simply looked up at her and frowned. "Yes, the same way I did. If that bitch wants eternal life I'll grant it for her. After all, death is the high cost of living, and I say she's lived long enough. It's time for her to move on."

Lust frowned into her coffee cup. She was surprised that Envy had stopped obsessing over killing the Elric brothers and now focused his attention and hatred towards Dante. At the same time she expected it.

The Elric brothers had done nothing to Envy up to this point that Lust would consider out of the ordinary for typical opponents. However, after all this time, Envy had wanted nothing but Dante's favor and now she had completely disregarded it. Lust sipped the cold dark liquid.

"Never turn your back on Envy," she muttered too soft for him to hear.

* * *

**Leonahari: HEY! Just like magic! Another chapter done! Geez...it's like dinner; takes forever to make and five minutes to [read]. Haha, oh well. Thanks to everyone for their great reviews. I'm flattered! Yes, I'm sorry, I haven't been able to reply to them yet, but I will! I'm looking forward to my birthday (yes, I do those things lol). I've been on this site for... *counts on fingers* 7 years! *frowns*Man, that makes me feel old..... Next chapter soon!**


	6. Midnight Encounter

**Chapter 6: Midnight Encounter**

The five of them stayed up late discussing the homunculi and issues surrounding the philosopher stone well into the night. Sciezka had already dragged her feet to her bedroom upstairs, and Winry was more than happy to follow suit. Izumi stayed downstairs with Edward and Alphonse until the girls had disappeared. When the sound of their footsteps finally faded, Izumi turned to the boys and said, "I'm not certain, but I think you boys have one less enemy to worry about now."

Edward and Alphonse stared at her blankly. An image of Winry holding dangerous looking power tools formed in Edward's mind, while Alphonse pictured Sciezka surrounded by an unlimited ammunition of hard cover books. Neither really knew what Izumi was talking about.

Izumi knew the boys well enough to know that they had assumed something completely different than what she originally meant. Their dumbfounded expressions tipped her off.

She sighed. "I meant that homunculus Winry was talking about," she said.

"Envy?" Edward confirmed.

"If Winry's account is accurate, it sounds to me like he's not being influenced by the stones at all anymore. That's one less thing to worry about," Izumi said.

"I hope you're right," Edward agreed, yawning, "But it's Envy and he never does anything without a reason. He could be doing this to make us assume he's no longer with the rest of the homunculi. Maybe he wants us to drop our guard."

Izumi nodded. "I see. You could be right about that. In any case, you still have the rest of them to deal with, and don't forget Winry has now provided you with all of their weaknesses. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"I knew about the homunculi weakness a while ago," Edward explained, "but I'm still confused as to why Envy would tell Winry about something the homunculi consider their most important secret to their destruction. He knew she would come back to me and share the information."

"He didn't know you already knew," Alphonse added.

"That's what makes it even stranger," Edward replied.

"I think teacher's right. Maybe Envy's changed and he's trying to help us now," Alphonse suggested.

"Why wouldn't he come and face us then? Why wouldn't he have told us himself?" Edward mused.

Izumi stood up and looked between the boys. "Well, you won't find the answer tonight. So, I suggest you get some sleep. Maybe you'll get an idea in the morning," she said, "Goodnight boys."

Edward and Alphonse watched her go upstairs to the other guest room, before they spoke again. "Brother, what should we do?" Alphonse whispered, "From the sounds of it, Envy may be one of our allies now. With his help, we could defeat the other homunculi."

"It's probably not as black and white as you make it out like, Al," Ed mumbled, resting his head in his arms on the table. "I'm still confused over Envy's motives. Why would he give Winry all these items to defeat the homunculi unless he expected us to do it?"

"Maybe he's using us as bait," Alphonse suggested, "You know Envy, if he can avoid doing it himself he will. Maybe he hopes we'll rush in there before he does and –,"

"At the same time, if he really hates someone he would prefer to do it himself to watch them suffer," Edward said, thoughtfully, "You remember, Al. The time we first ran into him and he beat me to a pulp over something our dad did to him along time ago."

"His desire to avoid conflict could be explained by the absence of the stones in his body," Alphonse replied, "You heard teacher. What if that part of him has changed?"

Suddenly, Edward dropped his head right on to the surface of the table, exhausted. "Ah! I don't know, Al! I thought we had a good handle on everything and then Envy goes and pulls this stunt. What am I supposed to think?"

"I think we should get on with it as planned," Alphonse suggested, "We'll use the items Winry brought us to help us with our goal. We can disregard Envy's motivation completely. If he's changed and is now our ally, he'll make it obvious to us eventually. If not, well, we need to face the homunculi sooner or later. But I think we should just get on with what we were doing before all this happened."

"I think you're right, Al," Edward finally sighed.

"Winry said something about being taken to a place under Central. What do you think that could mean?" Alphonse asked, curiously.

"Exactly that," Edward replied.

"That must be where the homunculi are hiding," Alphonse concluded.

"Yeah," Edward said, wearily, "Maybe we could get Winry to show us where it is in the morning. For now, though, I think I'm going to get some shut eye."

* * *

Moonlight poured in through the open window of the bedroom where Winry slept. She had tucked herself snuggly into the soft grey-blue sheets of the bed and lied for a few minutes staring at the ceiling. The moon cast silvery lines across the specked eggshell paint. She had left the window open because she loved to listen to the rain at night. A tree shook in the light summer breeze making the shadows dance along the walls.

Winry heard the muffled sound of voices downstairs and then someone passed her bedroom and closed the door to another room. She assumed Izumi had finally decided to turn in for the night.

A few more minutes passed, but Winry couldn't seem to close her eyes. She wasn't that tired. She figured it was because of all the late nights she had had recently were finally twisting her sleeping cycle around, but then she realized it was something else entirely.

It was odd to sleep without Envy watching her. The last few nights she couldn't shake the nervousness she felt when he stared at her through the darkness until exhaustion finally had mercy on her mind. Now, she was free from him and free to sleep without those violet eyes gazing emotionlessly at her, and she still couldn't sleep.

Her thoughts wandered back to the dream she had had on the train. It had been so strange. She couldn't clearly recall a lot of it anymore. It had faded into her memory and now it was just a jumble of confusing images that evoked odd feelings towards someone who was inhuman.

Winry sighed and rolled over. She could already tell it was going to be a long night. She listened to the soft patter of rain outside and tried to clear her mind. The tree moved again, causing the shadows to move violently against the wall once more. Odd, she hadn't thought there was _that _much wind.

Winry closed her eyes. She was becoming irritable now. A soft noise caused her to glance at the window. Someone was crouched on the edge of the sill like a cat. Winry shot up in shock and gasped loudly.

"Calm down it's only me," said a familiar voice. Through the darkness and dim intervals where the moon was able to peek through the rain clouds, Winry could make out the form of spiky hair and a lean frame.

"Envy? What are you doing here?" That was all Winry could come up with. She was still surprised to see him. There was nothing else she had thought to say besides that, and now she felt she had been a little rude.

"Don't get your hopes up," Envy replied, mocked, "I'm not here because I _missed_ you."

"Then, why are you here?" Winry asked, "I thought you let me go? If you're here to hurt Ed and Al, I won't let you do it."

"That's very touching," Envy said, "but I don't really care what happens to the pipsqueak and his brother. I here because it's raining and a fool left her window open."

"Funny, I was just thinking about how nice it was to sleep without someone watching me," Winry spat, "and you better be careful because Ed and Al are here. If they hear you –,"

"I'm not afraid of them," Envy stated, "I could have them begging for mercy in seconds if I wanted. Would you relax?"

Winry realized she was gripping the bed sheets with white knuckles. She sighed and flexed her fingers. She couldn't help but wonder why he had bothered to follow her here. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting someone to climb through my window, that's all," she excused, mockingly.

"Well, you better get used to it," Envy said, bitterly, "In being allied with me you've made some pretty important enemies."

Winry blinked. "Allied?" she repeated under her breath. Did that mean Envy considered her an _equal_? Perhaps, even a _friend_? Maybe Izumi was right about homunculi and the red stones.

She recovered from his odd comment and said, offhandedly, "Does that mean you're protecting me?"

She noticed Envy's blank expression through the darkness and didn't quite understand his reaction. He climbed off of the window sill and leaned against the wall opposite her bed. His arms were crossed and his face was shadowed by his dark hair. He seemed to be staring at the floor, but Winry couldn't see his eyes.

It didn't seem like Envy was going to answer her at all. Instead, Winry studied his body language, but even that didn't tell her anything. However, she noticed with a pang of annoyance that he was dripping rain water all over the floor. "Hey, you should dry off or our homunculi enemies will be the least of my worries. Sciezka can be a real clean freak, you know," Winry said, gently, "There's a towel on that chair over there."

She pointed towards her workbench. She had taken that towel out of the linen closet earlier that night to use after her shower in the morning. Envy obliged wordlessly, and Winry didn't understand his sudden silence. When he picked up the towel she noticed him scan her workbench with mild curiosity. "I forgot that you're that brat's mechanic," he said, wearily.

It was a statement that threw Winry a little off guard. Was Envy trying to make conversation with her? It was odd he was there in the first place. However, now that Envy had opened the topic, Winry enthusiastically threw off her covers and skipped over to where he stood.

She quickly picked up a plain-looking wrench and held it out to him, grinning from ear to ear. "Edward bought me this one from Rush Valley. Look at the curves and the grip handle! Oh, and you can twist the end off and it becomes a storage compartment for your favorite bits!" she bragged, happily. She dropped the wrench back onto the table top and picked up another tool. "This handy drill can drill through any type of metal. It's even designed to drill through diamond without damaging the cut!"

Envy watched her put down and pick up tool after tool after tool and explain them all to him with enthusiasm that would have originally made him sick. Strangely, though, he found he could bear her nonstop chatting and it didn't even bother him when she forced a screw driver into his hands and made him feel the "fabulously textured handle."

If he had been his self, Envy realized he probably would have killed her with one of her precious tools by now. However, he had no desire to kill her. In fact, he found her rather amusing. It had been a while since he had stopped listening, but he kept eye contact to look like he was paying attention.

Winry was oblivious to his exhaustion. She continued to go through her collection of tools down to the last drill bit. When she finally got to the last one, a star-shaped bit paired with her fancy mechanical drill, Envy decided it was about time he took some action to shut her up.

He moved in very quickly and took her by surprise. Winry dropped the drill bit onto the floor in shock. All she knew was a moment ago she was talking about tools and next she attached to a homunculus by the lips.

Winry was so shocked she tried to push him away from her, but he was too strong for her. His lips were cold from being out in the miserable weather all night, but other than that they were soft. She started to calm herself down a little. Then, she realized the reason she wanted to push him away was because she thought he was attacking her. When she felt his gentle touch pull her into him, rather awkwardly, she realized otherwise.

Without the same hesitation as the last time, Winry wrapped her arms around his neck. A shiver went though her body at the feel of his body against her own because he was still soaked from the rain outside. His skin was cold and damp and his hair was even more so. However, the kiss made up for it all.

It was different than the last one. The last one, Winry knew, had been a write off. It had been timid and experimental. This time, however, Winry could feel the hunger behind it. Whether it was fueled by passion or pure curiosity, Winry didn't much care. His touch made her forget everything, and she let herself go limp in his arms.

Winry didn't understand his passion at all. All she knew was she had finally proven him wrong. Homunculi did have feelings after all.

Envy broke away from her again, but this time Winry didn't let him step back from her. She draped her arms over his shoulders and rested her head in the nook of his neck. She could felt his chest rise and fall with each breath he took. A feeling of comfort, of belonging, washed over her and she felt as she had in her dream. She felt an overwhelming sense of protection was being provided for her.

"Winry!" Envy and Winry jumped apart and spun around to gaze at the door. Edward came storming in, with an irritable look on his face, "Who are you talking to? Oh –,"

Winry's heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. She swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around herself. _Oh no! What's Edward going to think? _

"That's so rude! Don't you knock?" screeched a familiar voice. Winry glanced over to Envy and saw Sciezka standing there instead. She felt relief flood her.

Edward looked a little awkward. "Uh, sorry, but could you keep it down?"

"Sorry, Ed. We'll be a more quiet next time," Winry said. Edward backed out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Winry turned to Envy with a wide smile. "I forgot you could do that," she said, gratefully. She watched Sciezka turn to the spiky-haired homunculus before her eyes. He snickered, "It was so tempting to screw with his head."

Winry frowned. "I'm glad you didn't or he would have known who you really are."

"Not like I care," Envy said. Winry made her way back to the bed and sat on the edge of it with a grin.

"So, Envy," she said, slyly, "Would you agree with me now if I said homunculi can have feelings?"

Envy studied her smug expression and matched it with one of his own. "No," he said, causing hers to falter a little. He watched as her eyes clouded over with what could be described as the calm before the storm. "Are you implying I should have feels for you? Because I don't."

"How can you say that after what just happened?" Winry snapped. She balled her fists into the covers angrily. Her eyes darkened to a point where Envy might have feared her _if _he had been mortal.

He decided to end his little game quicker than planned. He had only wanted to see how long it took her to snap, and what buttons he could press before she did. He came over to where she sat on the edge of the mattress and grinned, showing her his jagged teeth. "Get away from me," Winry hissed. She knew it was futile to try and push him away, so she crossed her arms and glared at him.

Envy looked down at her, fascinated that something so small and fragile could have such an attitude. He brought his face level with hers so that he was about an inch from her and smiled. "You know, for someone so interested in analyzing my every motive for doing things as a non-human, you still can't tell when I'm joking with you," he said with a mischievous glint in his violet eyes.

Winry's lip slowly curved up in a smile and her eyes softened. "So, I'm right? You do feel something?"

Envy answered her by moving in on her. But instead of capturing her lips, he trailed kisses down the side of her neck. Winry was lost momentarily in the feeling of his butterfly kisses which trailed to her collar bone. His warm and gentle touch on the back of her neck and lower back were unexpected pleasures that, Winry realized, she never believed he was capable of.

It seemed he was investing all of his inhuman strength into trying not to hurt her. Winry found herself leaning back into the bed and she noticed Envy's touch get a little awkward and shaky at moments. It didn't daunt her, though. Maybe he was just nervous.

Envy was trying his hardest not to _kill _her.

The powerful surge of unfamiliar energy was pumping through him at the point where if he were to let loose he could do some real harm to her. Therefore, he was trying desperately to maintain as much control on himself and his actions as possible. He was a lot stronger than Winry, and sometimes he didn't know his own strength.

So when Winry let out a soft whimper, Envy immediately drew back. "No, please don't stop," Winry pleaded. A little confused, Envy obliged.

He didn't know why he decided to carry on with his seduction of Winry Rockbell. All he knew was that it felt good to him. It felt right. Earlier that night, Envy had agreed to take Lust's advice and lead the heart in the right direction and being there with Winry was the only thing that made sense to him.

When the moment came where Winry was pleading for him, Envy pulled back and grinned at his handiwork. He decided to have a little fun and Winry watched him with lustful eyes. "I'm going to give you a choice," he said, "and you can tell me which it will be."

A light blue flash illuminated the room for a second and Winry looked up and was surprised to see Edward looking back at her. "Full Metal pipsqueak," Envy started.

Another flash of light and Roy Mustang was on top of her. "All the women like him, right?" Envy added as an afterthought. Winry giggled.

"Or do you like lots of muscle?" Another flash of light and Major Armstrong flexed his arms in front of her. This one made her blush crimson.

Envy changed back to his usual form and smirked, "Well, who will it be?"

Winry grinned and tangled on of her hands in his unnatural green hair. She brought her other hand up and cupped his face, loosing herself in his violet irises. "I want you, Envy," she whispered in his ear.

Envy gave her a confused look. He hadn't expected that. He had thought she'd go for Edward, quite frankly. The fact that she actually chose him over the rest made him feel important in some form or another, or that he was better than the rest.

He managed a small smile despite his shock and obeyed her wish.

Outside the open window the rain continued to pound the streets of Central. The moon was completely hidden by the clouds, which were thickening with each passing minute. A violent tempest was on the horizon, one that would not likely be forgotten.

* * *

When Winry awoke in the morning she felt more tired than she had before she went to bed. She fought the temptation to open her eyes. She could still here the rain outside and it was now accompanied by a strong wind. She knew sooner or later she would have to get up and close the window, but she didn't want to. She was too comfortable.

When the memory of last night came back to her, Winry didn't feel any sort of remorse or regret. Originally, she feared that she would wake up alone, but when she felt the rise and fall of her pillow, she knew Envy had stayed with her. Unwillingly, she opened her eyes to the dim grayness of the storm outside, and the homunculus next to her.

Envy was lying on his back, with one arm draped lazily over her shoulders and the other on his stomach. He was still in a deep sleep, and Winry knew from experience that he could and would sleep through anything. So, she didn't feel that bad when she slipped out of bed and padded over to the window to close it.

When she climbed back into the bed, Winry smirked. She hadn't even tried to be quiet or gentle, and Envy had slept through everything so far. So, she took that moment to simply observe him. Everyone was different when they slept. Envy, the homunculus who held grudges for eternity (literally) and would stab you with a butter knife if he saw fit, looked peaceful when he slept. When he had his eyes closed he was no longer the monster Winry had first known him to be. She noticed he had shortened his hair to sleep and she frowned. If only she could change her look by will. She pulled helplessly at her tangled mess of gold and sighed.

"Winry! Are you awake?" Sciezka knocked at the door. Winry sat up in horror.

"Hang on!" Winry shouted from the bed. She shook Envy awake. "Sciezka's at the door!"

His violet eyes widened in comprehension. It would look very odd if Edward or Izumi was sleeping in the same bed as Winry. He would have to leave. In a flash, his cloths were back on and he had one foot on the windowsill. Winry watched him, wondering when she would see him again. "Meet me at that old café near Central Library at noon," Envy snapped, before he launched himself out the window into the rain.

"Winry?" the door opened and Sciezka stumbled in. She gazed around the room curiously. "Wow, what a mess. Hey! Close that window! You're going to get water everywhere!"

"Sorry." Wrapped in her housecoat, Winry went to the window and closed it. She gazed through the glass to see if she could see Envy, but he was gone.

"Sorry to wake you up so early, but Edward and Alphonse want to get going and –,"

"So they woke me up?" Winry blurted, grabbing a wrench off her workbench and striding to the door, "Let me teach those boys a lesson."

Sciezka blocked her way out. "Wait, Winry! They want you to go with them."

Winry blinked. "What?" Were Edward and Alphonse finally going to include her in things? Had she finally proven her worth to them as a capable teammate?

"Apparently they want you to show them to the place below Central," Sciezka said. Then, she frowned and wrapped her arms around her midsection defensively, "But if you ask me, I don't think you should. I mean, it could be really dangerous. You'd be walking right into the beast's mouth."

Winry smiled. "I already have, don't you think?"

"Well, I think you're brave for going back there, but just remember," Sciezka said, as she moved aside to let Winry pass, "Bravery and foolishness boarder on a thin line."

"I'll remember," Winry smirked, "Where are the boys now?"

Sciezka blushed deep crimson. "Well, I happened to tell Colonel Mustang about your disappearance, so Ed went down to Central Headquarters to straighten everything out. Apparently, Sergeant Feury was head of the case and Izumi never informed Major Armstrong that you're safe and back with us. So, Ed's gone to give a report or something like that."

"Poor Alphonse," Winry mused.

"What do you mean poor Alphonse?" Sciezka blurted, "Edward's going to get his head ripped off by the Colonel and it's all my fault."

"Edward deserves a lecture every now and then, but Alphonse has to go through things because of his brother. That's why I said poor Alphonse. Anyways," Winry glanced at the clock on the nightstand, "Ten thirty already? What time did they want to go?"

"He didn't say. Probably when they get back."

"Well, I'm going to go out for a bit then," Winry announced.

"What? Already? But what if that person who kidnapped you still around?" Sciezka said, her eyes widening to emphasis her point.

"Don't worry, Sciezka. I have to meet someone at noon," Winry smirked, "and he'll protect me if something happens."

Sciezka grinned slyly. "Oh, a date? Aren't you lucky. I hope he's cute. What should I tell Ed and Al when they get here?"

"I don't know. Why don't you just tell them I'll be back as soon as I can?" Winry replied, sighing, "Edward can wait on me for once."

"Well, alright, but be careful."

* * *

**Leonahari: Okay, everyone likes a bit of lovin' in their romance story, right? Of course they do, but this is a T rated fic. So, nothing extreme. I left it majorly to the imagination. Have fun with that one :P Anyhoo, you review and I write! Update coming soon!**

_**PS: You guys are gonna like the next chapter even more! But... I can't tell you why yet :P**_


	7. Death by Temptation

_Oh my goddness! This took me forever to write, but here it is. We're nearing the end soon. I can feel it. Sorry about the slow update, but things got tricky this last week and I was forced to pay attention to my financial issues *sighs*. The joys of being a student and living away from home... Anyways, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and please review! _

**Chapter 7: Death by Temptation**

High above the streets of Central two ominous figures cloaked in black sat on the rooftop of one of Central's residential houses listening to the patter of rain and watching the open window of the primary interest. Lust's normally wavy hair was sodden and cold, dripping with august rain. She watched keenly through the blur of falling droplets as her former comrade and acquaintance made a hasty escape from the female's bedroom window and disappeared into the greenery surrounding the house.

Her lips straightened into a small frown. "Oh, Envy, you are a terrible hypocrite," she cooed as she watched the homunculus disguise himself as a smart businessman and make his way casually down the street. He was oblivious to the homunculi spying from above.

"That's right," Lust's frown deepened, as she continued her dialogue to the rain, "So, you won't accept my thoughts on our ability to become human and here you are fooling around with one. You are truly despicable."

"Naughty, naughty," Gluttony smirked. His bald head glistened with beads of rain water.

"It's no matter," Lust replied more to herself than to the other homunculus, "The fates that be decided to keep me from knowing about my past. So, naturally, it would be unfair to let Envy carry on pretending he's been gifted with the fates' favoritism."

"Does that mean I can eat her, Lust?"

"No," Lust replied, darkly, "I'll deal with Envy's pet myself. This sort of work takes a skilled hand."

She flexed her fingers as they slowly turned to sharp points. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Gluttony shook with excitement, "Can I eat her after?"

"No, Gluttony," Lust snapped, impatiently, "I want her corps to serve as a reminder to Envy that he is not human and continuing this petty game will only distract him from his true goal of getting the philosopher stone. I can't loose Envy now that he's turned his back on Dante. There are too many advantages to having him on my side, and I won't let that blonde whore get in my way."

* * *

It was very gray outside. The rain was still coming down in buckets. Winry frowned at her breakfast as the sound of the rain lulled her into deep thought. Thunder tore through the air above them.

"Oh!" Sceizka ran into the kitchen covering her head with one of her many books, "I hate thunder and lightning."

Winry giggled slightly and took a bite of her toast. "It doesn't bother me much, and I like the rain."

"You're weird," Sciezka commented with a small smile, "You know, if you want to get going I can clean up your dishes."

Winry glanced up at her curiously. "Why?" Then, she saw the clock and jumped up, "Oh crap! It's noon already? Shit!"

"Great first impression," Sciezka teased as Winry ran around to collect her purse and jacket.

"See you later!" Winry ran to the front door and yanked it open. She disappeared into the grayness before Sciezka could say anything.

"Come back with stories!" Sciezka sighed and locked the door behind her. She dragged her feet back into the kitchen where she started the tea kettle. She flinched at the sound of another roll of thunder overhead. "Oh, I hope this storm goes away soon."

* * *

The café near Central Library was brightly lit and had a sterile sense to it. The walls were white, save for a few roughly hung pictures of coffee mugs, cutlery, and other inanimate objects. The booth seats were hard and faded. The table-tops were white-washed and plain looking. The owner hadn't even bothered to put a small decoration on the table. If Envy had been one to care about appearances, he would have walked out by now. However, besides the brightness of place, nothing else bothered him too much, but he hoped Winry would get over there fast so that they could leave. The brightness was starting to burn into his eyes.

Nobody else was in the café except him and the anorexic chef who wore a white apron and stood behind the counter. Envy frowned and looked out the window at what looked like blackness surrounded by a crisp white sill. He shut his eyes and put his head in his hands trying to shut out the brightness of the café. He didn't normally get migraines, but there was a first for everything.

Talking about firsts…

Envy smirked into the palm of his hand. He was sure last night had been Winry's first time with a man. As for him, well, he was four hundred years old. He knew the tricks, as it were. However, it had been his first time with a human. It had been so difficult to control himself. So, he hadn't enjoyed it as much as he could have.

When he had been with Lust, however…

His smirk grew wider. He wasn't afraid to admit that Lust had laid him down with little effort on her part. It was a part of her nature after all, and therefore her talent. But that had been a long time ago. Just after Dante had found her and Lust didn't know the boundaries, she had advanced on the first male present without thinking. She only did it once. Envy made her realize that he was in fact Dante's right hand homunculus, and she didn't touch him after that.

But despite the physical void, a bond had started between the two homunculi. Envy didn't know why, and he didn't much care. Lust had started to talk to him about things. Not just anything, but thoughts on her existence, things that bothered her. She seemed to feel that Envy would listen, or that he was the only one that would, even if it didn't seem like it at the time. Ignorant of Envy's indifferent attitude towards her, Lust continued to treat Envy… like a friend. And that was how Lust had slowly leeched the information about Envy's past out of him bit by bit. He hadn't wanted it to be like that, but now Lust was the only one who knew besides himself and Dante. If that bastard Hohenhiem was still alive he'd count that one more.

Envy briefly glanced at the clock on the white wall and scowled. Winry was late by four minutes. How infuriating!

The little bell on the door jingled cheerfully as someone entered the café. Envy glanced over his shoulder from where he sat to see if it was her.

"Oh my god, Sherry! No kinding. I hope you totally told that bitch to go to hell," said a nasally voice. The girl seemed to be speaking to two of her other friends as they entered. They didn't seem bothered by the whiteness of the café. They made their way up to the counter to order drinks, and Envy watched them out of the corner of his eye.

Not that he found them attractive. No, it was quite the opposite. He found them rather annoying and fascinating at the same time. This wasn't his first time sitting in the company of humans, but it was his first time being around them in his usual green haired form. It wasn't like they had a hope of discovering what he really was, but he knew his usual form drew attention to him. Most of it was unwanted.

He was only in his form so that Winry could recognize him when she finally arrived. When would she arrive? Envy glanced again at the clock. Ten after. Irritably he fingered the butter knife next to him.

"No, let's sit over here," said one of the girls. She threw a look in Envy's general direction, thinking he hadn't noticed, "That guy creeps me out."

Envy's frown hardened into a sour expression. If Winry didn't show up soon, someone was going to get hurt.

Twelve twenty-five.

Why was he still sitting here?

It sickened him to think he was actually waiting on her. Not only that, but he was waiting in desperation. He was getting angry because she was late. He shouldn't even care! He shouldn't even care about _her_! She was a human and he despised humans! Why was he sitting here like an idiot waiting for her?

Across the café, which wasn't very big, the three girls giggled loudly at something one of them had whispered. Instinctively, Envy glanced up at them with a glowering expression. Patience was not his talent and he hadn't practiced it in a long time. He may hate fighting, because he'd rather someone else suffer the pain for him, but he hated humans more.

"What's with that guy?" one of them whispered. The café was small, and Envy's hearing wasn't all that bad. "He's totally staring at you."

"Maybe you should go over there, Sherry."

"Yeah, give him a good slap," hissed the other.

"Tell him to keep his perverted eyes to himself."

They giggled again. Envy silently dared them to confront him. If only they knew who and what he was…

That's when he realized something. His slow pulsing irritation grew. He was not human. So, why was he pretending to be like one? His time with Winry, leaving Dante and sitting here putting up with this bullshit; it all felt unnatural to him. He seemed to be trying to find his place among the humans with Winry, when in reality, his life as a human ended long ago. He was a homunculus! He was not fit for this role. So, why was he trying so hard to live it?

Twelve fourty-two.

"Screw this. I'm out of here," Envy made to stand up, but the bell jingled again and someone entered. He turned around and was shocked to see Lust striding towards him. His mouth was agape. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Lust frowned at him and sat across from him. "Well, Envy, I thought you'd be happy to see me. I guess that's too much to hope for."

A roar of thunder cut through her words. Envy smirked as the three girls flinched and let out whimpers. He looked at Lust. Her hair was dampened with rain, but she still looked unnaturally beautiful. The three girls were gawking enviously at Lust, and seemed shocked that she was sitting with the 'creepy guy'.

Envy looked away from them and back to Lust. "So, Envy, I didn't think you would actually take my advice and follow through with it," she said, darkly.

The corner of Envy's mouth pulled upwards and he closed his eyes modestly. "Oh, don't look so surprised, Lust. After all, how many humans have you fooled around with? It's not like sex means anything to us," he opened his eyes to see her expression. She was indifferent.

"I suppose you're right. To me it's my nature, but I never thought that idea would cross _your_ mind," she said, folding her arms on the table and hiding her ample sized breasts.

"What are you trying to say, Lust?" Envy said, heatedly. In the corner of his eye, he could just make out the figures of the girls huddled together and casting suspicious glances in his direction.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what we were originally created for?" Lust frowned, "If you want to play human so badly then help me get the philosopher stone so you can become one."

"I don't want to be human," Envy countered, "You're starting to sound like that bitch."

"You…" her confident voice faltered, "You don't want to be human? But I thought… why have you been helping Dante all this time if you never wanted it to begin with?"

Envy didn't answer, but Lust jumped to her own conclusion. "Don't tell me you're still waiting on her to take up her role as a mother to you?"

Envy smirked. "You worry too much about my motives for doing things. Don't you ever think that I do things for no reason at all?"

"No, because you don't do things without a reason," Lust said. Envy was taken aback a bit, but he just shrugged off her comment and glanced sideways out the window. "Think what you want," he mumbled.

"So, what does the girl mean to you?"

Envy looked back at Lust. Her blunt question threw him an obstacle. He wouldn't be able to slide away from answering without her noticing he'd purposefully avoided it. He decided to tell her the truth for once, because he didn't know the answer either. "Mostly curious, I guess."

"Remember what curiosity killed? I'll give you a hint: you have similar eyes," Lust warned.

"Anyone is welcome to try," Envy replied, icily. His eyes glinted with malice that challenged anyone daring enough to strike him with his back turned.

Lust smiled. "That's the Envy I'm used to," she said, "By the way, I'm curious to know why you're here. Don't tell me you're meeting that human. Honestly, I don't think she's going to show."

Envy glanced at the clock. It was now after one. He frowned, but he didn't want to admit she was right. Another stroke of thunder rumbled through the sky outside. This time it was accompanied by a brief flash of lightning.

* * *

Winry dashed outside and threw her hood over her head. The café Envy wanted to meet her at was near the library and that was about ten minutes away. Envy would be angry with her. There was no doubt about that. Winry flinched at the thought.

She came to the end of the street. There was a natural park up ahead. If she cut through it she could be at the café in five minutes. She jumped over the chain link fence and stomped on through the mud. The park was a lush green belt that surrounded the small stream and cut cleanly through the heart of Central. She'd followed the trails sometimes with Sciezka when she first moved here, but it had grown over since then. She could hear the stream through the brush and plowed towards it.

Her boot got suck in the deeper mud. Winry cursed and pulled it out, only to stumble back, trip on a stump and land on her bottom covered in mud. "Oh, well this is just great!" she grumbled.

Standing up, she noticed someone watching her from the streams edge. She was a little shocked, because the woman looked like she belonged on a model runway in Central, not a muddy forest. However, that thought was quickly driven from Winry's mind. The expression on the woman's face was sly. Her thin lips donned a small smile, but her eyes were cold.

She had the same eyes as Envy. Winry took a step back. She had forgotten about the rest of the homunculi and Envy's warning, and she had also left the chest contents on the table in her haste to leave. Winry swallowed. "H-homunculus?"

"Impressive. I didn't know humans still knew that word," Lust said, her voice like silk to the ears.

"I know one," Winry warned, but her voice was shaky, "You better stay away from me, because he's around here somewhere. He promised to protect me."

"Protect you? How touching," Lust said. Her smile widened with amusement, "What makes you think I want to hurt you?"

Winry shivered. Between the rain and the homunculus she felt cold and uncomfortable. "I don't trust you."

"What a shame."

Hot pain seared through Winry as two of Lust's sword-like fingers were driven through her body. Winry couldn't think anymore. She gasped for breath, but a mouthful of blood choked her. She coughed it out and sucked back on the little air she was able to get.

The sharp points refracted back to the owner, and Winry dropped to her knees. She doubled over in pain and tried to grope at the wounds in her stomach. Her mind seemed to freeze in panic. She was too preoccupied with trying to breathe without choking on her own blood to notice the woman turn and casually walk away from her.

Winry couldn't help but let gravity pull her to the mud. She landed on her stomach by the edge of the stream. Strands of hair stuck to her skin. Her complexion paled by the second and dirtied with a mixture of mud and blood. She felt the rain on her body like pinpricks. She was cold and shaking. She could feel the warm blood flowing slowly over her hands, but could do nothing to stop it.

"_What? So you guys aren't going to Dublith to see your teacher?" Winry asked. She looked at Edward as he watched the landscape pass by from his window seat. They were headed to Rush Valley, and Edward had just been released from the hospital. _

"_Of course not, Winry," Edward replied, "If she saw us she'd know right away what we'd done. No, I heard that there's an Ishbalan refugee camp a little South of Dublith. I want to check it out." _

"_You think Scar might be hiding there?" Winry asked, worried. _

"_Yeah," Edward replied. _

"_Then, why did you say those things back there? Why did you tell everyone you were going to Dublith?" _

"_Winry, we're not giving up on finding the stone," Alphonse said, "We said those things to ensure nobody else gets hurt for our cause." _

_

* * *

_

Envy looked back at Lust with a grin. "What makes you think she won't show?"

"She won't chance the storm."

Envy shrugged and closed his eyes. A smug look settled on his features. "That's too bad."

"Why don't we get out of here? This place is making me sick," Lust frowned at the chef who simply stared back at her with a blank look mimicked by the walls.

When they stood up, they passed the booth with the three girls. Lust continued to the door, but Envy stopped and threw a dark look in the girls' direction. They simply stared at him with wide fearful eyes. His violet orbs narrowed on the one they called Sherry and he gave her a sharp-toothed grin.

"It's really too bad," Envy said, placing his hands on his hips and savoring the look of horror on their faces, "I was really looking forward to a confrontation with you. But I guess that was too much to hope for. You're a coward. All talk and no walk. You humans are truly despicable."

Without another word, Envy turned on his heel and stormed away from them. Their shocked expressions followed him out the door into the rain.

Lust was waiting for him. "You didn't kill them? You've gotten soft."

Envy waved her comment aside carelessly, "Humans are like insects, Lust. You kill a few and the whole swarm ambushes you. Besides, that chef had a knife and I don't feel like getting hurt."

"Because you don't have the stones in your body anymore?" Lust added, "You can't heal as fast."

Envy looked up and down the street. It was empty. Rain poured down upon them in buckets. Envy glanced back at Lust with a raised eyebrow. "So, Lust, where's Gluttony?"

"I…" Lust looked like she'd forgotten something. Envy's expression grew cold. "I don't know," she finished, lamely, "Why do you ask?"

A corner of Envy's mouth turned up in an attempt to smirk. He locked his gaze with Lust's violet one and stepped closer to her.

Without notice, he drew her into his arms and captured her lips. He felt her body mold itself to his own and she deepened the kiss willfully. She passionately urged his lips apart to explore the taste of his mouth, something she had only tried once. Envy was like a forbidden fruit to Lust. He had been Dante's untouchable right hand for so long, but now he was no longer.

Lust wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him with needy motivation. Envy gasped and pulled away from her. He took a few good steps back from her, but didn't take his eyes off her.

"What are you doing?" Lust frowned.

Envy's expression unnerved her. His eyes were cold and his frown was deep. His face was shadowed by some darker truth. He glowered at her, and she felt confused.

"Where is she, Lust? Where's Winry?" he asked icily.

Lust recovered from her confusion and her lips turned upward in a sly grin. "Oh, Envy. You can't tease me like that and not finish what you've started," she licked her lips.

"That's right," Envy sneered, "Taste every bit of it. By the time you decide to tell me what you did with Winry, you may find you can't move your legs. Eventually your entire body will be immobilized. My body recently absorbed the bone fragments of the human you were created from. That kiss is laced with poison. So, enjoy it."

"Bastard!" Lust choked out. She grabbed her throat and spat. She knew it was too late. She could already feel the numbness moving through her veins like wild fire. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

Envy picked her up by the neck where he hung her momentarily in the air. She looked down at him like a scared puppy to its master. "I won't ask you again," he growled dangerously.

Lust gasped for air. "In the forest…I left her there."

"She better be still alive when I get there," Envy snarled. He let go of her neck and she collapsed onto the ground at his feet. He turned his back on her to walk away, but her barely audible whisper stopped him. "_I'm sorry_."

Envy shook off the shiver that ran down his spin and broke out into a run towards the only forest he knew in Central. Behind him, Lust rested her head on the pavement in the middle of an empty urban street. Rain pounded down on her as she felt her body succumb to the poison in her veins.

"I'm sorry… I didn't think it was possible for us to love another… like humans do," she breathed.

* * *

"Hey, Brother, I was thinking," Alphonse said, randomly, as he and Edward walked back towards Sciezka's place. The rain bouncing off Alphonse's armor made loud tapping noises and Edward had to lean in to hear what he was saying, "Oh, yeah, what about?"

"About there being a city underground," Al added, "How could no one notice it? I mean, I'm not saying we can't trust Winry, but what if she's mistaken? Maybe she was blindfolded and carried to a basement or something."

"No, she said Envy led her there disguised as me," Edward said, bitterly. He still didn't like the idea of being friendly with the mass-murdering homunculus.

"I just think we should confirm things with her."

"Or if Envy wants to do us a favor, he's welcome to pop out of nowhere and point us in the right direction too," Edward scowled, "I don't really want to get Winry involved in this."

"Me neither. Uh? Brother look!"

Alphonse pointed ahead of them. In the center of the street lay a figure clothed in black. Her hair was spread gracefully out on the pavement and her pale complexion made her look like a fragile porcelain doll. Violet eyes stared at the two boys in desperation as they approached slowly.

"It's Lust," Edward mumbled to Alphonse. He kneeled a few feet away from the deadly sin and studied her cautiously. "What happened?"

"Envy…" Lust managed. Her body was paralyzed, but she was still able to form words with difficulty.

"Envy?" Alphonse blurted, "So, Envy is fighting the homunculi after all."

"No," Lust spat. She tried to gesture to the greenbelt up ahead. "He…broke. No stones in him…"

"He broke? You mean snapped?" Edward repeated, confused.

"I don't understand. Hasn't he been helping us?" Alphonse asked Ed.

"Your friend…" Lust managed to gasp.

"Winry?"

"She's…in danger," Lust said, "I tried…to stop him, but…"

"Winry!? Ed, we have to go back to Winry! Envy's going to hurt her!" Alphonse shouted.

"In the forest….that's where… he took her."

Edward and Alphonse looked ahead through the rain at the mass of trees and brush. "Let's go, Al!" Edward jumped up and bolted towards it. Alphonse looked reluctant to leave Lust, but he followed his brother anyways. "Thank you!" he bowed before he took off after his brother.

Lust watched them disappear into the trees and allowed herself one last sly grin.

* * *

The rain hit the gutters of the old church and in one smooth-flowing stream sloshed all the way down the side of the building. It followed a crack in the aluminum rod and dripped through the ceiling where it pooled and soaked into the ground near the altar. It continued to steadily drip below the surface where it reached the roof of the cavern below.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Slowly a puddle formed before the entrance to Dante's mansion. Then, as if possessed by it's own will, the water rose and took the shape of a woman. She stepped forward and into the foyer where her master was waiting patiently.

"I bring good news, Master," Sloth announced, bowing as she came to the foot of the stairs, "Envy has taken care of Lust for us, and that girl he cares so much for is dead."

"Good, that only leaves Envy and the Elrics to take care of," Dante said. She laughed and Sloth looked up at her curiously.

"Master, I heard what Envy said to Lust. Those bone fragments you gave me. They weren't Envy's at all. It did nothing to him," she said.

"No, they were Lusts," Dante smirked, "Out the homunculi, Envy is the eldest and most achieved of them all. Did you really think I'd have someone _kill_ him? I know Envy very well. He can be useful to me even when he thinks he's free. I knew Envy would be in touch with Lust eventually. It was only a matter of time."

"But he knew your plan. He killed Lust to settle his own score," Sloth said.

"Yes, Envy's not a fool," Dante said, "Though, I have to wonder why he killed Lust willingly."

"Lust was after the stone and she had killed his pet out of spite," Sloth answered, "That seemed to be his primary motivation."

"Rainwater to eavesdrop?" Dante smiled down at her loyal pawn. Sloth nodded, "I can be everywhere at once."

A sly smile spread across Dante's lips. "A wonderful talent that is."

Edward and Alphonse tore through the brush. They were following footsteps in the mud, which they assumed belonged to Envy. When they reached the clearing near the stream Edward and Alphonse stopped abruptly. They came face to face with an ugly sight.

"Blood! Brother, she was here!" Alphonse pointed at crimson stained puddle where the mud had molded to the shape of a body, but the person was missing.

"Where is she?" Edward glanced around. There were no trails suggesting Winry had crawled anywhere.

"Do you think Lust was lying?" Alphonse asked, urgently, "What if this is a trap?"

Edward shook his head. "Well, someone was here," he said, kneeling closer to the puddle of blood. It was streaming between the folds of mud and into the stream of clear water, staining it. "Whoever it was lost a lot of blood."

"Look! Foot prints!" Alphonse pointed to a trail leading away from the clearing towards Central.

"Someone was carried off," Edward mumbled.

"Brother, I don't think Lust was lying to us. I think Winry got hurt and Envy carried her off," Alphonse suggested.

"That doesn't make sense… but there's no time to think about it, Al. We've got to follow those prints!"

"Right!"

* * *

The doors to the underground palace were kicked open with ferocious strength. Dante and Sloth spun around to face the intruder. Envy stormed into the foyer with a look of loathing in his eyes. In his arms he tenderly carried the limp form of Winry. Her body was soaked and covered in mud and blood. Envy himself looked filthy. His feet left a trail of mud and water behind him, but he didn't care.

"Dante!" he bellowed with terrible fury. Dante and Sloth were struck with shock. They simply stared at him with wide eyes. Neither knew what to make of this situation.

Envy came to the foot of the stairs and stopped. The fire in his eyes could not hide the sorrow that dwelled within him. Dante had never seen Hohenhiem's homunculus like act like this before.

"I need a philosopher stone! And if you don't give me one right now, I'll tear you to pieces with my bare hands until I find one!"

**Leonahari: Yay! Another chapter out of the way, not that I mind writing them of course XP. In the last week, I've been trying to get my mind off things, because I can't write when I'm stessed, I read instead. I've read some really good EdXEnvy fics recently and it got me thinking that it isn't a bad pairing after all. Originally I was a little skeptical because I'm not a yaoi fan, but if it's well written and the author presents some significant, belieable "bondages" to get the two together, I can buy it. So, maybe I'll write a yaoi fic EdxEnvy after this one and see how it goes...? Maybe...? Anyhow, next chapter will be soon. I look forward to seeing your responses to this chapter, because I'm thoroughly enjoying everyone's reviews so far. Thank you so much!**


	8. Soul of the Homunculus

_Uh...sorry for the slow update this time, guys and gals. It's the last bit of the semester now and I'm gearing up for end of term exams and long papers (Sigh). It's all over in a week, and I'm moving again, which is a huge inconvenience. However, now I'm on my own and no more roommates to deal with. You know she bothers me about writing these stories all the time by calling me a nerd and stuff...Yeah, well, screw that I'm moving out! Take that!_

**Chapter 8: The Soul of the Homunculus**

"Envy?" Dante smiled, "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I thought you'd left us permanently. We've _missed_ you."

"Don't give me that bullshit, _Dante_. I am not here to kiss your ass. I'm here on my own terms," Envy growled, "Now, where is the philosopher stone?"

Dante sighed and crossed her arms. "You were always such a difficult child, _my son_."

Envy blanched. The dying girl in his arms was momentarily forgotten at Dante's words. So long had he yearned to hear them slip from Dante's lips, and now it seemed he had been gifted. But it was so odd to him. He had waited four hundred years for Dante's approval, and now she had said it he didn't feel any different. He was shocked, but he still hated her.

That hatred moved him forward.

"Stop messing with me and tell me where you keep the stones," he growled.

Dante let out a low chuckle. "Why? So, you can save that human? You disappoint me, Envy. Humans are worthless creatures. I thought you knew this better than anyone."

"You say that humans are worthless, vile creatures, and I don't disagree," Envy said, darkly, "but no matter how many bodies you attach your soul to _you_ are still human. Your love affair with that bastard and your obsession with eternal life with him by your side proves even you can't deny true emotion. Humans are driven by it. So, don't stand here acting like you're one of us, because you're not! You of all should understand my reason for trying to save this human."

"Yes, but just as you put it, Envy," Dante frowned, "I am human and you are not. So, stop acting like one! You shouldn't even have feelings!"

"But I do and from how I see it, Dante, that makes me more human than you will ever be," Envy growled. Dante gasped in surprise, but recovered immediately. Her eyes narrowed on the image of her son.

Sloth and Wrath stood on the side following the argument. "Envy," Sloth suddenly said, "Does that mean these memories that I have… does that mean they're real?"

Envy locked his gaze in a cold glare with Dante. "No," he said, coolly, "Those memories are simple illusions of the life the human we were created from lived. They mean nothing."

"But these feelings I have for the Elric brothers," Sloth persisted, "they must be real!"

"What you feel is inspired by the fake memories," Envy replied. He glanced over at Sloth and Wrath with a sharp look in his eyes and added, "Dante is wrong about us. Feelings and emotions come as naturally to us as it does to humans. The only difference between us and humans, the only thing that sets us apart, is our immortality and our inability to do alchemy. That is the only difference."

"Why?"

"Because we come from inside of the gate," Envy said, "I'm still not sure what that means, but who cares?"

"You're forgetting one other important difference, Envy," Dante sneered, "Homunculi don't have souls."

Sloth and Wrath glanced between them. Envy smirked slightly and looked down at the pale form of Winry in his arms. "If homunculi didn't have souls, then we wouldn't have feelings either," he countered, "and Winry would mean nothing to me."

Sloth drew a shaky breath and turned a widened gaze at Dante. "You should have known this. Why did you…keep it from us? So, we are like humans after all. The philosopher stone makes no difference to us, besides the fact that once we are human we can die."

Dante gritted her teeth at Envy. Her fists were balled, her knuckles white. Sloth turned to Wrath and whispered something in his ear. Wrath set his big violet eyes on Envy and nodded to Sloth quietly.

Envy watched the young homunculus saunter over to him with a blank look. Envy's first instinct was to kick him away, but then Wrath stuck his hand into his pocket. He lifted his human hand and held out something for Envy to see. In his little palm sat a couple of artificial red stones.

"What are you doing?" Dante suddenly thundered from the top of the stairs upon seeing what Wrath was about to do.

Envy and Wrath ignored her. Without exchanging words, Envy kneeled and placed Winry on the floor before the young homunculus and let him perform his alchemy using the red stones. Wrath placed his fist-full of philosopher stones above Winry and closed his eyes. Envy was tense. Did the boy know what he was doing?

A red glow surrounded them. Envy looked away. He couldn't stand the brightness.

"Traitors!" Dante snapped at Sloth and Wrath.

The door to the foyer was kicked open for a second time that day. Edward and Alphonse Elric stood in the doorway. When Edward spotted Wriny laying on the floor covered in blood he panicked.

"Get away from her, you bastard!" he shouted. The red glow was temporarily interrupted by a blue one as Edward turned his automail into a sharp blade. But, Alphonse stepped in and held him back.

"Wait, brother! Look what they're doing!" he said, urging Edward to notice where the red glow was coming from.

Edward calmed down at the sight of the stone in Wraths hand. Envy looked back at him with a narrowed glare.

"Edward Elric, what a pleasant suprirse," Dante proceeded to descend the stairway. She gave a wide birth of space between her and Envy as she passed him. This did not go unnoticed by Edward and Alphonse.

"Lyra? What are you doing here?" Edward blurted in confusion.

"You mean Dante," Envy quickly and loudly corrected him. Edward blinked. He was even more confused.

"Dante?" Alphonse gasped, "But, we've met Dante. She's an old lady from Dublith."

"Edward, Alphonse," Dante pleaded running towards them with a terrified look in her eyes, "Please, you've got to help me! These monsters kidnapped me and brought me here."

Before she could come any closer, Edward slashed at her keeping her a good distance from him and Alphonse. "Stay away from us! I don't know what's going on here, but we came to get Winry. Lyra, what happened here?"

"That's not Lyra," Envy frowned in a bored tone.

"Shut up! What did you do to Winry?" Edward snapped. Sloth interrupted and came towards them, "Edward, Alphonse," she breathed. She looked between them with a sorrowful expression, "I'm sorry for everything."

"What? _You_ did this to Winry?" Alphonse asked, confused.

"No, I didn't," Sloth replied, "I'm sorry for not being more like the mother you expected me to be."

"You're not our mother! You're just an image of her," Edward growled. He shook his head in confusion. Everything and everyone was ambushing him as if they had all gone insane. He barreled between Dante and Sloth to get to Winry, but Envy stood up and blocked his way.

"Get out of my way," Edward threatened. He slashed at Envy, but the homunculus was too quick for him. His automail was caught in Envy's tight grip. With one swift move, Edward was propelled across the room. He landed on his back and slid a few feet until his head grazed the wall.

"Don't tell me you still haven't learnt your lesson, pipsqueak," Envy sneered, as he stalked towards him. Edward stood up shakily. For a homunculus who hadn't eaten red stones in a while he thought Envy was much stronger than he had originally hoped. "I thought you knew better than to pick a fight with me," Envy added.

"What did you do to Winry, you bastard?" Edward spat.

"Winry?" Envy mused with a smirk. He stopped a few feet away from Edward with a hand on his hip. Edward was extremely confused now. The look in Envy's eyes wasn't as malicious as usual.

"Lust said she had tried to stop you from hurting Winry. We found her in the middle of Central. She was in pretty rough shape, so don't lie to me, Envy!" Edward snarled.

The red glow faded.

"Envy, she's alive!" Wrath announced happily.

Edward and Alphonse stared over at Winry and Wrath. Winry was still out cold, but her wounds had clearly healed. Edward turned back to Envy, who was still covered in Winry's blood. "You were… helping her?"

"Do you seriously believe everything people tell you?" Envy said, coldly, "You're pathetic."

"So, you killed Lust because she tried to kill Winry?" Alphonse asked, curiously.

"A life for a life. That's equivalent exchange, right?" Envy mocked.

"But…why?" Edward mumbled. His mind went to Winry and how she talked about Envy as the homunculus who had kidnapped her and then brought her back safely. None of it made sense to Edward, unless…

"You like her, don't you?" Alphonse said in a teasing sort of voice. Edward flinched at his brothers bluntness. Even Envy winced at it being said out loud.

"Shut up! I hate humans!" Envy quickly snapped. Edward simply stared in disbelief. Alphonse was finding it quite entertaining. Envy's response had been automatic, like he had prepared it days before in case this happened.

"That's okay, Envy," Alphonse said, calmly. There was a sense of laughter in his voice, "Denial is the first transition into love. It's perfectly natural."

"Shut it, you tin can! I am _not_ in love with that human!"

Sloth, Wrath and Dante watched the scene unfold. Absently, Sloth petted the top of Wrath's head in appreciation. He acknowledged it with a smile.

Edward took advantage of Envy's temporary distraction and moved to kneel beside Winry who was still out cold. He gave Alphonse thumbs up, who continued to bother Envy. Winry's eyes fluttered for a moment before she opened them and looked up into Edward's golden ones.

"Edward?" She breathed lightly. Edward smiled down at her. "What happened? Where am I?"

Her mouth was dry and the bitter taste of copper layered her tongue. Her entire body ached from head to foot. She moved her hand up to her face to block the blazing light of the chandelier over head, and the movement felt odd. She looked down at herself and saw that she was covered in blood and mud. It was sticky and crusting in some places.

"Take it easy, Winry," Edward said.

Winry sat up gingerly and looked around. Gasped weakly when she noticed she was back in the foyer of the underground mansion surrounded by Dante, Sloth and Wrath. Also, she noticed Alphonse and Envy arguing loudly on the other side of the room about something. She turned back to Edward. "I knew you'd come for me eventually," she said, "I'm so sorry, Ed. I shouldn't have gone out on my own."

"It's okay, Winry," Edward assured her.

"But Dante and those homunculi there," Winry pointed at Sloth and Wrath, "They're evil, Ed. Be careful. They tried to seal Envy and Lust tried to kill me."

"Lust? So, she did this to you?" Edward sighed, "I thought Envy had done it."

"No," Winry looked over at Envy, who was still oblivious to the fact she was now awake. The look in her eyes made Edward sick to his stomach. He hadn't seriously considered she and Envy had developed something of a relationship, but that look in her eyes confirmed it.

"Winry, you know you can tell me anything," Edward said, gently.

Winry smiled at Edward. "Thanks, Ed. That means a lot to me," she said. Edward couldn't help but smile back. That hadn't exactly been what he had meant. He had wanted her to confirm what was going on between her and Envy, if there was anything at all.

He didn't like it. Envy was a murderer, and one that could never be forgiven completely. He had killed so many innocent people. Edward couldn't bare to think Winry would get involved with someone like that. She was too pure, to innocent.

"Listen, Winry, about Envy…" he started, darkly.

There was a loud crash behind them. Envy had attacked Alphonse and had managed to kick his head off. It slammed against the wall with tremendous force. Alphonse just stood there with his fist balled in front of his chest.

"That wasn't very nice," he shouted, heatedly. Envy gritted his teeth and prepared to battle Alphonse.

"I've got to stop them!" Winry gasped. She got up before Edward could stop her and ran towards them. "Stop it!" she shouted.

"Winry?" Alphonse tripped in step, "You're okay!"

"Yeah," Winry replied, weakly. She was still aching. The stone had healed her wounds, but her muscles were tense and sore.

Envy watched her with a blank expression. Without thinking, Winry had walked straight towards him. She didn't care if everyone was watching her. A moment ago she had almost died. She had been terrified and alone. Only she hadn't been alone. Envy had picked her up. She had recognized the feel of his arms when he had picked her up and brought her here. She would never forget the feel of his touch on her skin. That was one of the memories she had clung onto desperately in the face of death.

He had kept her alive again.

Winry basically walked into Envy and wrapped her arms around his waist. She buried her face in his chest. Everyone watched in shock. Even Envy, who didn't know quite what to do and whose cheek's blushed crimson under the brightly lit chandelier of the foyer. All he could think to do was pull away from her and avoid the embarrassment.

Normally, he would have done so, but he'd almost lost her. He could no longer deny he had been scared for the first time in his long life; terrified of loosing Winry.

He embraced the sobbing girl reluctantly and gently kissed her forehead. He surprised himself, when he realized he didn't care if the others were watching. He had Winry back. That was all that mattered.

"What the hell?" Edward gaped, "Winry? What's going on? What are you doing? Get away from him. He's an enemy!"

"No, he's not, Ed," Alphonse responded, "Remember what teacher said?"

"I don't care, Al! Winry, get away from that monster!" Edward slashed at the air angrily, "That guys a sneaky bastard. He's playing you, Winry!"

"Dear, dear," Dante stepped forward, "Isn't this an interesting feat. Edward loves Winry, but Winry loves Envy. What a terrible triangle. Envy, you died four hundred years ago. You shouldn't even be in existence. Look at the chaos you've caused. Destiny does not include the damned."

"Four hundred years?" Winry repeated in disbelief.

Envy growled and shoved Winry aside in his anger to get to Dante.

"Winry, you okay?" Alphonse caught her. Winry nodded, "It's okay, Al. That woman… Dante, I think her name is. I heard from Sloth and Wrath that she's Envy's mother."

"What?"

Meanwhile, Envy stormed toward Dante with jagged teeth. He lunged at her. A water whip came out of nowhere and slammed him against the ground. The air was forced from his lungs. Envy gasped for breath.

"I'm sorry, Envy, but I can't let you do that," Sloth said, "She's still my master."

"You're just a sucker for the stones," Envy coughed. He pulled himself up to face his new opponent.

"At least I don't fall for humans," Sloth replied, coolly. Envy frowned. After his and Winry's little scene there was no use in denying it.

"Get out of my way! I want to kill Dante with my bare hands!" Envy snarled. Dante winced. Even she could admit being on Envy's bad side was terrifying.

Envy launched himself at Sloth, but was tackled out of the air by Wrath. "Get away from her!"

They rolled until Wrath was on top of Envy. He made to perform a little alchemy, but was thrown off the homunculus with tremendous strength and slammed up against a far wall. Wrath sunk down and shakily got to his feet. Absently, he dropped a few of the red stones he had been holding.

"We've been through this, Envy. You know you're not strong enough to fight both of us at the same time," Sloth said, calmly. Envy hated that she was right, and he wouldn't ask for Edward's help even if he was dying. He backed down, but didn't drop his defensive pose. He hated himself even more for his weakness. By Sloth's smug expression she knew she was right. Envy couldn't try and deny it. He was already feeling the burn in his body wherever his muscles strained from fighting Wrath, and his breathing was low but he was having trouble keeping it that way.

A low chuckle echoed coldly through the high-ceiling and chamber. Envy hated that laugh. He had listened to it for far too long, and it had become all too familiar. His eyes narrowed on Dante. "It looks like you're helpless without the stones to sustain you," she smirked.

Envy hid his pained expression with a smug grin. He didn't want to let Dante know she was running with the bait, even though he knew she was right. He could feel the sweat on his brow. The anticipation of what would happen next was stifling him. He knew he had to get out of the mansion. There was no way he could fight all of them and get away alive. Plus he had Winry to deal with.

He frowned. If it weren't for alchemy, humans were useless in his opinion. Then, he reminded himself. Winry couldn't even do alchemy…

Then, he noted Edward and Alphonse Elric.

No way! Dante could ripe him apart and stitch him back together again before he asked those two for help. Yet, if he wanted to get out of here alive, he would need their help. Winry wouldn't leave unless the pipsqueak and his brother were able to get out safely as well. Envy knew Winry was still attached to those two for whatever reason, so he would have to work with that somehow.

Wait! Why did he care so much about getting them out in the first place? He shouldn't care! He was Envy!

His frown deepened as Dante took a small step towards him. His mind was still buzzing in confusion. On one hand, he was a fool for caring about a human, and, on the other, he reminded himself he was the one to bring Winry down here for help in the first place and to walk away now would be…well, it wouldn't make sense.

Dante saw the confusion behind Envy's dark violet orbs. Sloth stiffened when she noticed her master was approaching him. "Master?" she warned.

What am I doing here? Envy narrowed his eyes on the approaching target.

A few feet away, Winry grabbed Edward's arm. "Ed, why's he just standing there? What's going on?"

"I don't know," Ed replied. He turned to Alphonse, and whispered, "We should get out of here, Al. Why don't you take Winry somewhere safe?"

"But what are you going to do? You can't fight the homunculi on your own!"

"Envy," Dante was saying. She took her chance to feed off his confusion. His vulnerability reflected in the depths of his violet eyes. He was at a crossroads, and for the first time in his life no one but himself held the strings. Dante knew she had no power over him, but she could regain it if he let her. All she needed was a chance, one small insignificant flaw to have Envy under her fingertips. "Envy, I'm sorry…"

Envy regarded her warily. Not in four hundred years had he ever heard Dante apologize for anything, nor speak to him in such a gentle tone. She almost sounded like the mother he wished she had been. Cautiously, he took a step away from her, but didn't dare tear his gaze from her or the other homunculi. One false move and he was dead, him, Winry and even the pipsqueak. They'd all die, if he made a wrong move.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It was so loud in his ears he was surprised no one else could hear it. Dante was moving towards him again, but he kept the distance between them the same by matching her strides in the opposite direction. She stopped irritated at his obstinate disposition.

It must have been odd for her too, Envy mused as he gazed into those cold jaded eyes. A homunculus who she had been able to control with little effort finally broke its chains and ran free. Envy; the homunculus she must have thought would never stray on her, finally did. Envy sneered at the thought of how shocked she must be to think he had finally gained the independence he'd been dreaming of for so long.

Having given up on approaching him, Dante stood rigidly on the spot. She opened her mouth to say something.

"Brother!" Alphonse shouted.

Envy and Dante turned to see Edward running at Envy with his automail blade at the ready. "Run, Al!" he shouted back and launched himself at the green-haired homunculus. Envy dodged it just in time to spare his shoulder. Why wasn't Edward aiming for his throat? It would be more logical if he had wanted him dead.

Edward didn't break for a moment before he was swiping continuously at Envy, who dodged his blows with little effort. Envy, having noticed that Sloth and Wrath stood on the side at a loss for what to do, also noticed Alphonse escaping with Winry in tow. A diversion? The automail blade grazed his cheek. Envy spun and caught Ed's jaw with his fist. It was an effortless move, but it sent the young alchemist flying back a few feet where he finally landed on his back.

"Edward!" Winry shouted in hysterics, blowing her cover and her chance to escape. Sloth and Wrath rounded on her and Alphonse.

Envy and Edward ignored her. Edward partially because he was trying not to get killed, and Envy because…well, he was having way too much fun.

With inhuman strength, Envy had managed to leap over the ground covering the distance between where he had stood moments ago and the fallen Edward, and land conveniently on top of him, straddling him and pinning his arms up over his head. His violet orbs housed uncontrollable rage and excitement. Edward squirmed to release himself, but Envy was too strong for him. "Don't think that just because helped Winry means I don't hate you anymore. I've told you before. I will _never_ forgive you!"

A hard fist cracked over Edwards jaw. Winry screamed and covered her face with her hands. Dante jumped forward, eyes wide with horror. "Envy, control yourself! You cannot hurt him. I command you!"

Envy stopped abruptly. Fist posed over his shoulder for another blow to Edwards face. At first, Edward didn't know what was going on. Was Envy still taking orders from Dante? But then, something flashed behind those violet eyes as Envy peered over his shoulder at the woman he had once called master. Edward was shocked to see the amount of fury and hatred Envy had possessed for him and his father for so long might have been surpassed by another more frightful grudge, one that was new, fresh and still unhealed. One more time, Edward was grateful he would not be on the receiving end of Envy's wrath.

"Envy –,"

"Shut up!" Envy growled, dangerously. His eyes were darker than his voice. He leapt off of Edward and bared his teeth at Dante. His eyes were wild with fury. His fist balled at his sides. He decided now would be the best time to act on his urge to kill those he hated the most. Dante was in his line of vision. Without thinking, Envy launched himself at her.

"Enough of this!" Dante clapped her hands before Envy could make contact. He froze. Vines sprang up through the ground and wrapped themselves around his limps, holding him tightly a foot off the ground. He struggled, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Alphonse and Winry had been cornered by Wrath and Sloth. Sloth relaxed as she realized her master had prevented Envy from hurting her. She and Wrath would have been in deep trouble if they had allowed him to get his hands on her. Unfortunately for them, they still had two escapists to watch for. Wrath had used his alchemy to mould their hands into the stone wall. They wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Edward got shakily to his feet.

"I hope Envy didn't hurt you," Dante said, casually as if the struggle had never happened. Edward frowned at her.

"Stop pretending like you care what happens to us," Edward snapped, "Let Alphonse and Winry go!"

"I can't do that," Dante said, indifferently.

"And why not?"

"Because she still needs ingredients for the stone, didn't you know? You're supposed to be making it for us," Envy said, darkly. Dante shot him a look of daggers. On of the vines holding him twisted precariously around his neck and slowly tightened until his face contorted with pain. Edward gaped, wide-eyed.

"Stop it!" he blurted at Dante, who ignored, "Stop it! You're hurting him!"

"And why do you care?" Dante posed a good question. Edward couldn't reply immediately. Wasn't he supposed to get ride of the homunculi? Envy included. Then, why did he care? Edward glanced across at Winry, whose face had paled at the sight of Envy's strangled body. She looked too shocked and horrorstruck to even make a sound in protest. Absently, Edward felt the throbbing pain on his chin where Envy had hit him. He turned back to Dante.

"I guess, because he kept Winry safe for me when I couldn't," he said.

Dante was ignorant of his answer, and let the vine continue to strangle the homunculus. Edward knew it wouldn't, couldn't, kill him, but the pain he must have been going through was enough to make him cringe. On the other hand, Edward wasn't sure if he even really cared about Envy, besides the fact that he was grateful he had kept Winry alive. That wasn't much of a debt to be paid considering Envy had killed so many innocent people already. Edward couldn't just forgive him for that without a second thought.

"It's too bad," Dante was saying, "he's a real waste of a creation."

"What? How could you say that? He served you for hundreds of years," Edward blurted, shocked.

"Not efficiently enough," Dante replied. She then turned and spoke directly to Envy, who was writhing in pain, "Shall I teach you a lesson, Envy? I don't really want to go through all the trouble of finding another new Envy, but if I must I will do what I have to. First, I will give you one more chance, but your punishment will be served before I make that offer available."

Dante clapped her hands and Winry was set free from her cement bonds. She ran towards them, but Envy's eyes widened. Edward had realized the same thing a moment too late. "Winry, don't –,  
"

Winry wrapped her arms around Edwards shoulders and sobbed into his chest. "Ed, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Are you hurt?"

"No, Winry. I told you to leave with Alphonse!" Edward said, pulling her away and holding her by the shoulders so that he could look into her eyes and let her see how serious he was about what he was saying. Winry's eyes watered even more and he immediately regretted doing so.

"Look, Winry," Edward said, "You can't stay here. It's too dangerous."

He suddenly turned to Dante. "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this," he growled.

"Oh, but she has everything to do with this," Dante sneered and turned back to Envy, who was watching with envious eyes as Winry desperately held onto the shoulders of none other than Edward Elric. A familiar feeling in his chest rose up and spread through his veins. He knew this feeling all too well. Jealousy; though he would never had admitted it.

"Don't you see now, Envy," Dante said to him, "Your existence is invalid. You're not human, and in toying with them, you get in the way of what _should_ be. You are a monstrosity to mankind, something that should not exist, and yet you do. Therefore, your involvement in a humans life results in upsetting the natural course of destiny. Winry is obviously destined to be with Edward, and you have interrupted that from happening."

Both Winry and Edward broke apart as they immediately realized what Dante was trying to do. And, unfortunately for them, by the look on Envy's face, she had succeeded. If Edward thought Envy had wanted to kill him before, he was certain those violet eyes were making him a death promise now.

Meanwhile, Sloth and Wrath observed. Sloth was hesitant to involve herself in her masters work. So far, Dante was doing a fine job on her own, but something was bothering the younger homunculi. Wrath looked up at Sloth with big eyes and asked, "Mommy, if it's true what master says and we don't have a soul, then why does any of that matter to Envy?"

"It's the same as your connection to me, Wrath," Sloth said, though she herself did not fully understand the younger homunculus' attachment, she figured it was something similar to Envy's infatuation with the human girl. She continued, "I can't describe it, but I think the fact remains clear to me now. Our master was wrong about us."

"About homunculi not having souls?" Wrath said.

Sloth let her gaze fall on Alphonse, who stood silently still behind her, listening, and gave him a small smile. "I guess so," she said.

* * *

_Leonahari: Okay, so another chapter and I actually thought this would be the last, but it seems I have to do another for a complete wrap up....yeah, we're getting pretty close to the end now. I appreciate all my reviewers. So far, the feedback has been awesome and inspiring! Please keep it up! I need it right now........._


	9. The Gate

_To my great reviewers: thanks for the encouragement! I am finally done my semester, so here's to celebrating the beginning of my summer holiday! Shout outs to: mooncry, ikldmrogers, XxLexiLancerationxX, Dusky, rosy-cheeks, blackscarlet-24, xPrimalDesiresx, Sheeshasan, Shikamarurules1, DownMoon, Cerulean San, Cheza the Flower Maiden and The Legendary Zero. Thanks for all your constant feedback! Now on to the chapter..._

**Chapter 9: The Gate**

Envy seethed over the recent development, and Winry was still clinging to Fullmetal's arms. He didn't know who he was most angry with, Winry or Edward. All he knew at that moment was that if Dante's alchemic vines hadn't immobilized him, someone's blood would have stained the foyer floor by now.

Dante was still talking, but Envy was seeing red. He didn't care what she had to say, just as long as she let him down and let him tear a strip, no, a _chunk_ out of that bastard's son.

But Winry…

The pain the vines were inflicting on his body at that moment were nothing compared to the pain he felt in his chest. He didn't know what to think except for what he was already familiar with: betrayal, abandonment.

He watched Winry and Edward suddenly spring apart as something was uttered from Dante's sly lips. Envy didn't care what the old hag had said. She was no longer his concern. But Winry and Edward on the other hand…

Edward's eyes locked with his own for a brief moment in time. Envy watched the boy pale at the sight of his icy glare. Absently, almost by instinct, Envy watched the alchemist take a step back as he realized the fury in Envy's eyes.

_Good_, Envy thought. _That's right, pipsqueak. Enjoy that feeling of terror, because my eyes will be the last thing you'll ever see before I finally kill you…_

Envy barely registered Winry's pleas to Dante to let him go. Edward looked as if he hoped the homunculus stayed there until he was able to escape safely. If Envy was released now, Edward knew from the look in those amethyst eyes he would not be able to hold Envy back. If he thought Envy had been tough to fight before, he was certain he wouldn't stand a chance now.

Dante was obviously aware of this fact, because she ignored Winry completely. Instead, she clapped her hands together softly.

To Edward's horror, the vines holding Envy back disappeared. The enraged homunculus threw himself at the alchemist, but he was a moment too late.

_Clap!_

Three large silver spikes pieced through Envy's body, directly through the nodes in his back. Before he could even make it within an inch of Edward, Envy froze and collapsed. Winry covered her face in her hands, but despite her obvious shock, she managed to make it to Envy's side. She kneeled down to inspect the three large, sword-like rods and desperately tried to pull one out.

Edward made to stop her, but Envy blanched. "_Ah_! Stop, stop, _stop_! You _idiot_!" he groaned in agony.

Stunned, Winry let go of the spike, eyes wide, lip's trying to form an audible apology, but failed.

Dante walked casually over to Envy, who was sprawled out on his side. She drew a small dagger from her boot, a malicious glint in her eyes. Winry's eyes widened even more. "Wait! What are you doing? Don't come near him! Don't touch him!"

Winry had thrown herself over Envy's body, so that she was practically crouched over his weakened form. She was facing Dante with a sharp look of defiance in her usually calm eyes. In this drastic act to protect Envy, Winry had managed to shock everyone who witnessed her display of naked affection and commitment towards someone considered to be a monster.

Even Dante had the mind to stop and consider the scene before her.

Edward, on the other hand, couldn't shake the fact that Winry cared more for the homunculus than he was comfortable with. Not only that, but she was protecting someone who, given the first chance, would rip him to pieces. In short, Edward wasn't all that keen on letting her protect Envy, because it meant she was choosing Envy's life over his. He knew this thought wasn't exactly true, and that Winry cared for both of them (though in a different way), but his logical mind was kicking in again. And it told him to do what he did next.

He grabbed Winry by the arms and pulled her off Envy so that Dante had free rein of the homunculus. Winry screamed and fought him tooth and nail.

"Ed, what are you doing? Let go of me! Stop!"

"Winry, you have to go with Al! Get out of here while you can!" Edward struggled with Winry a little longer. She was tougher than she looked, but he was successful. "Al!" he called, "A little help here!?"

"Right!" Alphonse slipped past Sloth and Wrath, who let him, and took Winry off Edward's hands. Dante looked furious, "Sloth? What are you doing? I request damage control! Wrath, get over here!"

Edward watched. He didn't know what he was doing. He knew he should be fighting or acting against Dante, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it. Winry was still screaming behind him, but Al was having no trouble holding her back. Edward felt trapped.

What was Dante going to do to Envy? He watched her approach the homunculus, with her dagger clutched tightly in her hand. Ed knew she couldn't kill him with it, but she planned something. As she approached, Edward felt frozen in time. He saw Dante kneel at Envy's back and pose the dagger over the ouroboros on his thigh. Edward knew it would only paralyze him, but something else was bothering him. A part of him told him he was letting this happen because Envy would kill him the moment he was able. Another part felt uneasy about letting Dante carry on with her plan, whatever it was. They were both his enemies, right? Shouldn't he just take Al and Winry, and run?

"Edward…please…"

Edward turned to see Winry had given up fighting against Alphonse. And the state in which she was now made Edward wish she was still screaming out in rage. Her helpless expression tore his heart open. Her eyes were drowned in tears, but she was staring down at the ground in lost hope.

"Brother…" Alphonse muttered, "this isn't right."

Edward looked back at Envy. His eyes were blank. His face was void of expression. It was an eerie look that didn't suit the normally expressive sin. Edward's heart sunk. Since when did he become so cold and selfish? If Envy died, Winry would break. Ed saw that now. He would have to set aside his own worries like he always did. They would work themselves out like they always had.

Dante hadn't made a move yet. She was busy whispering in Envy's ear, but the sin seemed non-responsive.

Wrath had shuffled over to her, looking over Envy with childish curiosity. He bore a fistful of red stones. Edward tensed. What were they planning?

"It's alright, Edward," Sloth suddenly piped up, "The stones will give him strength and allow him to heal."

Edward stared back at her confused. Alphonse and Winry were silent as they watched Wrath hand a few of the red pebbles to Dante. "Wait a minute? Heal him? But I thought you guys were enemies now that –,"

"Unfortunately, due to the lack of cooperation from the other homunculi, I am left to salvage what I can from the little that I am given," Dante said, slyly.

"Salvage?" Edward heard Alphonse mumbled behind him.

"Envy won't be as useful, but at least he will stop acting human once I have removed all his human connections from his mind," Dante explained, "after that, nothing will stop him and he will have no emotion except for his namesake."

Edward's eyes widened. He remembered reading about that once. The ouroboros acted as a means in which a skilled alchemist could erase all prior knowledge of self and world within the created human, and in it's place emptiness and a dominant trait remains. Envy would no longer be the Envy he had known for the past four years. Envy would become an empty puppet driven by jealousy. Edward doubted Envy would even remember Hohenhiem after this. In some ways it was a good thing, however…

_Winry_…

Edward sighed. Things were already complicated. From the gasp behind him, he assumed Alphonse had come to the same conclusion.

Winry would remain in the dark.

That same divided feeling rose up in Edward again. He shook his head.

"I won't let you do that," Edward said to Dante, firmly. He was surprised by the authority his voice commanded. Dante froze. Sloth and Wrath stared at him. Edward had an idea. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he had to try. He wouldn't be able to stop Dante with Sloth and Wrath flanking her. So, he turned to Sloth and thought his words over carefully. She may have not been all that convinced by Envy's confession earlier, but Edward would have to try and make her see his view.

"You know what will happen to Envy after Dante does that, don't you?" Edward started. He received a befuddled expression. Dante's eyes widened as she realized his plan.

"She's going to erase all his memories and emotions…because she _knows_ _their_ _real_. That's the reason she's been holding you back. It's because she's afraid you'll overthrow her once you realize the truth: that homunculi do have a soul after all. Envy has a soul. That's how he can…feel for Winry like he does. But Dante's going to flush it out of him and give it back to the gate because his feelings have caused him to turn on her. If you were searching for an answer to your question, I think that's it."

Sloth simply stared at Edward, but he knew she was mulling it over. Wrath looked up at her with deep concern in his big violet eyes. "Mommy?"

Dante was already making quick use of her time. "Now, now, Envy, I know you want these," she muttered softly into his ear. Before his mouth she held a single red stone.

"Envy, you know what will happen if you eat that! Don't take the risk!" Edward shouted.

Envy knew well enough.

His sight focused on the crimson colored stone in front of his face. It was so close he could smell it. It was a great temptation to accept the stone into his mouth. It had been so long since he had eaten any, and after all this time he had even forgotten what they tasted like. The smell brought it all back to him, and now his body screamed for him to have a small taste… just a taste.

How harmful could it be? The stone was tiny in comparison to what he had been used to feeding off of.

What damage could it possibly inflict? He knew it would make him stronger. Then, he could escape with ease.

"Envy, don't even think about it!" Edward snapped. He changed his automail into a makeshift blade and ran at Dante to stop her.

Sloth didn't stop him this time. Dante dropped the stone and jumped back. Edward didn't want to hurt her. He had just wanted to get her away from Envy. Sloth, however, have obviously been convinced by Edward's talk. Three elongated water ropes tied themselves around the spikes protruding from Envy's nodes. Ignoring the sins agonizing yelps, Sloth pulled all of them out at the same time, enabling Envy to move and be free again.

Envy writhed in pain. He was bleeding, and his body wasn't healing. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat. His eyes were shut tightly, trying to concentrate on the progress of his healing ability, but it wasn't working and if it was, it was a slow process.

"Dante," Sloth said, purposefully addressing her master by the first name, "You're a fool to think your plan could have worked."

Dante's eyes flashed furiously. "My plan worked for generations, so don't think a couple of defective homunculi like you can ruin everything I've lived for."

"It's over, you idiot," Envy gasped, coughing up blood. He winced at the copper taste in his mouth. He'd never tasted his own blood before, and it was terrifying to know that his body was failing terribly at healing him. "The only reason your plan has worked before now is because you've always had _my_ help," he said, darkly, "but now you're on your own. Face it, Dante, you're not immortal. You're just another petty human standing in my way."

Envy made to stand up, but his body protested. A painful surge ran through his spine, rendering him more helpless than he would admit, but it showed on his face and in his eyes. Dante couldn't help but smirk. "At this point you're not in any position to make such threats, Envy."

Sloth suddenly turned to Alphonse and Winry, "You should go somewhere safe," she warned them, "This is going to turn ugly."

Alphonse nodded. He was still unable to push the dual image of his mother from his mind. "Uh, okay," he managed to drag Winry a couple feet, but then she planted her heels firmly into the ground and snapped, "I'm not going anywhere, Alphonse!"

Edward scowled, "Winry, listen to Al!"

Dante took advantage of his momentary distraction and clapped her hands. The concrete around Wrath's feet seemed to liquefy and, as if it had a will of its own, it rose above the surface and wrapped itself tightly around the younger homunculus and solidified again. It had an odd design that reminded Edward vaguely of Armstrong's boasting art alchemy. He pushed it from his mind.

Wrath wailed loudly for Sloth to help him. But she stared, stunned.

Edward spun back around to Dante, clapping his hands in response and dropped to the floor. Solid stone spikes shot up at Dante, who used another cement wall to break through them effortlessly.

"Your alchemy is nothing compared to mine, Edward," she said. The sting was hidden under a sickly sweet tone, "I have _lifetimes_ of practice!"

"Yeah, but there's a difference between your technique and my own," Edward replied. He ran a hand over his automail blade and made it retract back into its natural form.

"Of course, mine is far superior," Dante gloated.

Edward sighed, finding himself caught between Dante and Envy, who was still bleeding on the floor, curled into a fetal position. Edward almost felt sorry for the sin. Unable to heal, Envy was as helpless as the humans he despised. He was _weak_.

Edward knelt down beside Envy. The violet eyes watched him with that old hatred, but there was also a hint of fear. Envy knew he was useless in his current state. And he hated himself for it.

"You're wrong, Dante," Edward said, firmly.

"Ed, what are you going to do?" Alphonse asked, nervously from behind him. Winry watched, wide-eyed.

Edward frowned down at Envy. "You better not kill me after this, or I'll pull you into the gate with me," he threatened with a hint of dark humor. Wondering what the pipsqueak was up to, Envy grinned with a malicious glint in his eyes, "Can't promise."

Edward sighed and picked up the red stone Dante had dropped earlier. "The difference between you and me, and the main thing that sets us apart," he looked up at Dante, "I create and you destroy."

Rapidly, Edward ran the formula through his mind before Dante could react. _Homunculus…human recreation…same bodily make-up…sulfur, carbon dioxide, glucose, nitrate, calcium…_

He held the red stone above Envy as he thought and after a moment the homunculus was encased in a red light. Dante's eyes widened, Wrath had stopped wailing, Sloth watched with mild curiosity. But by the time any of them could grasp what had happened Envy, perfectly restored, had launched himself at Dante with pure malicious intent.

Dante clapped her hands and nothing seemed to happen. Envy's arm had transformed into a blade and he shoved it through her chest. There was a gut-wrenching gurgle as Dante tried to scream and, instead, choked on her own blood. A sadistic grin stretched over Envy's face from ear to ear as he stared deeply into Dante's eyes, watching the life fade from them.

"See you in hell, _mother_," he whispered.

With a last effort, Dante managed a small smile. Blood trailed from the corners of her mouth, her eyes, half-lidded, seemed too warm to be familiar. Slowly, she brought her hands up and cupped Envy's face. The gentle touch dumbfounded the homunculus. Dante had only ever touched him to hurt him.

Weakly, she managed, "Yes… _you will_."

The hatred and fury pressed into those three words stunned Envy, and before anyone knew it, the stonework around Wrath was glowing bright blue.

"Mommy! _It hurts_!" the boy wailed.

"What's going on?" Alphonse gasped.

Edward's eyes widened in horror, "She used the calcium in Envy's body and the calcium in the cement in the flooring to create a portal for a long distance transmutation! Al, the stonework around Wrath – it's in the form of a transmutation circle!"

"Wrath!" Sloth couldn't help but step away from the glowing form of the boy. Wrath was wailing loudly as the blue light spilled through his body.

Envy glanced back at Dante, who was limp in his arms. With a growl, he threw her body aside, transformed his blade arm back to a hand, and made a few steps toward Wrath. He was going to pull the little idiot out and stop whatever mess Dante had gotten them into.

A hand was on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Don't go near it, or you'll get pulled in," Edward warned, though it was hard to tell if he really cared or not.

"Envy!" Winry had parted herself from Alphonse and collapsed into the homunculus with a relieved sigh.

They watched helplessly until Wrath's wailing stopped and the blue light became a blinding white-yellow. Everyone flinched away from it and shielded their eyes. Then, it stopped.

Everything stopped.

The blinding light disappeared, the echoes of Wrath's dying wails faded, and everyone was met with an eerie silence. They turned back to where the young homunculus had been.

Their breath hitched in their throats at the ominous sight before them.

The Gate.

Its ash-blackened doors stood erect and shut, locking them out from the 'truth'. The grotesque skeletal design; darkened by sinful deeds and painted in a thin sheen of sacrificial blood of alchemists who never received their rightful exchange.

Edward and Envy shivered in unison as they witnessed the image of their immediate nightmare become reality before their eyes. Winry stared, wide-eyed at the horrific sight and remembered.

_Just like my dream…_

Without thinking, Winry screamed, "It's going to pull us in!" She tightened her grip on Envy, who was still staring, stunned, at the doors.

As if on queue, an echoed creek rang through the room as the doors started to shift open.

"Brother, Winry! Get out of there!" Alphonse shouted. Winry, Envy and Edward stood in the shadow of the gate, stunned and unable to react.

"Edward!" Sloth screamed, desperately.

"Brother! _Move_!"

The doors flew open with a deafening crash. All three stared helplessly into a large violet iris as if in a trance.

"_Move_!" Sloth and Alphonse shrieked. Alphonse had started to sprint across the room towards them.

Winry tightened her grip on Envy at the sight of the familiar eerie darkness within the gate. Her nails dug into his skin.

Envy gasped at the sting and mentally shook himself. He swept Winry up and off the floor and shoved Edward roughly to get his attention. "_Run_, fool!"

Alphonse stopped when he noticed with relief that they had turned and were running as fast as they could away from the gate.

Winry was crying into Envy's shoulder. She had closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again the terrifying image of the gate would be gone and she could say it had been another bad dream.

"Hurry up, pipsqueak!" Envy shouted and Edward ran to keep up, "Can't your short legs go any faster?"

He heard Edward fume a bit and he was surprised how quickly the midget passed him at full sprint. Envy grinned triumphantly. He didn't care about Edward, but Winry did and he wanted to make sure Ed didn't fall too far behind.

Something wrapped around Envy's left leg. Before he could think, he had tripped forward, dropped Winry and fell flat on his face.

Winry had given a surprised shriek and looked over at Envy, who was lying on his stomach, with a pained expression on his face. It was then she noticed the black tendrils. Just like the ones from her dream. They had wrapped around Envy's legs and were pulling him towards the gate.

"No!" Winry jumped forward and grabbed Envy's arm under his shoulder and pulled as hard as she could. Her hands slipped and she fell back with a crash.

Edward had stopped at hearing Winry's cry and his eyes widened. "Winry! Get away from there!" he shouted, "Damnit!"

He sprinted towards Winry. The black hands had already snaked their way around Envy's lower half and were pulling at him, but the sin had punched the floor and held desperately onto the small nook he had created. His arms were shaking at the effort to keep holding on.

"Alphonse, help!" Edward shouted, but he didn't need to say anymore. Alphonse had already come over and grabbed Winry to prevent the tendrils from getting her.

"Let go, Al! Envy! _No_!"

Edward transmuted his automail into a blade and tried to cut one of the arms holding Envy, but it failed.

"Shadows…?" Edward gasped. He couldn't cut them. His automail turned back into a hand and he grabbed Envy's arms and pulled just as Winry had.

Sloth used her water ropes to tie around under Envy's shoulders to help. Alphonse picked Winry up and moved her away from harm.

More hands snaked out and wrapped around Envy some more. Sloth and Edward's pulling was becoming more and more futile. His face beaded with sweat, Envy looked up with a trying expression, "Go," he said.

Edward was taken aback. "What are you saying? Winry would kill me if I listened to you!" he snapped and pulled harder, but the dark little hands weren't budging.

"It only wants me," Envy growled, "You idiots, let go!"

Without further argument, Envy released his hold on the nook. Edward and Sloth flew forward as Envy was pulled from their grip. The hands dragged Envy, as he instinctively clawed at the ground, closer and closer to the gate.

It happened so fast. Envy was dragged brutally over the threshold and before the doors closed, Edward caught the look of pure, genuine terror in his violet eyes. Then, the gate disappeared, leaving nothing but cement rubble behind.

Silence fell on the survivors as reality set in.

Then.

"_NO_!" Winry collapsed to her knees. She heaved and gasped as tears began to streak down her face. She closed her eyes tightly. _It should have been me…Envy…why…?_

In her dream _she_ had been the one to be left in darkness behind those ash-darkened doors. This had to be a mistake! Another dream, perhaps…? It was all wrong! What had happened…? She had been the one, ripped from his arms, dragged across the threshold…It was _supposed_ to have been _her_!

"Winry…?" Alphonse tried to comfort her, but she threw his hands off her.

It was all _wrong_! Why hadn't the gate taken _her_?

"I…" Sloth started, coming out of a momentary stun, "I have to inform Pride," she said more to herself than anyone else. With that, she slowly left the room with a blank expression, as she tried to sort out what had just happened in her head.

Edward was still staring at where the gate had been. Questions ran through his mind like: why had it only taken Envy? And where was the _equivalency_? Could the gate be summoned by any petty alchemist to be used as a tool of death? Just another weapon for mankind to harness for means to their own evil ends?

_It_ was all _wrong_.

Edward looked over to the dead body of Dante. Winry's helpless cries grew softer as her voice grew hoarse. Somehow, he couldn't fathom that it was over just yet.

* * *

_Don't kill me yet...wait for the next chapter and then you can decide to kill me or not...Oh, and that reminds me: I've had some comments about Envy's niceness and Sloth's 'stupidness' *XP*. I assure you, if you remember the previous chapters about certain...*cough* red stones then it should be clear that both sins have been neglecting their diet. Of course, that's not an excuse for OCCness, so I'll continue to improve upon their characters as best as I can and let me know if I fail miserably...Review?_


	10. Of Bullets and Mercury

**_I apologize for the delay. This is the last chapter. I want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and will review (hopefully) again. You've made writing 'Of Bullets and Mercury' a fantastic experience for me. I hope you will enjoy this last closing act in the same way as I did. -leonahari_**

**Chapter 10: Of Bullets and Mercury**

He was fighting it. Fighting as hard as he could. He'd had a nightmare like this one, where he was surrounded by the familiar darkness of his creation. Except it wasn't a nightmare. He couldn't be dead. He wasn't exactly _alive_ to begin with. If he _had_ been alive then this, he figured, would be the afterlife…what a disappointment.

Gingerly, he opened his eyes. He didn't process what he was seeing at first, since a pattern of white spots was dancing in his vision. Besides, he was too preoccupied with trying not to choke on air. It took what felt like entire torturous hours for him to reconsolidate his breathing. It felt as though he had been submerged underwater for more than he could possibly withstand. On the one hand his lungs were struggling to convulse and breathe, but on the other this process was extremely painful in itself.

The darkness around him seemed to swell and retract as if it had lungs of its own. He couldn't see it, but he could _feel_ it. One by one, his senses slowly became familiar to him again. He felt the darkness press down upon him until claustrophobia crippled his mind. All around him he felt the light touch and caress of _others_ as if he was lying with hundreds or thousands of other bodies, souls or whatever else this place kept within its darkness.

It made him sick. He felt his throat constrict threatening bile to rise in his chest and layer his tough in a bitter flavor. Taste.

Slowly, Envy was being reassembled.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, he heard a piercing sound, like a horrible, high-pitched cry. His reflexes jerked and he couldn't stop the involuntary nervous reaction of his fingers. As they clutched the ground on their own volition, he realized that what he had grabbed was a handful of earth, even though he couldn't see it.

So, he was on his stomach. Slowly his mind registered tiny fragments of data for him to justify and cling to. It was all he could do to rely on his senses. Without the knowledge of location, Envy felt trapped and useless.

The scream died as soon as it had come and left Envy in a state of paranoia. After a time, he got control of his actions and brought the handful of loose soil to his face. The tip of his nose touched the pile in his hand, but he still couldn't see it through the darkness. And it smelt _off_. It didn't smell like earth. It smelt _sour_. Envy dropped it. Let it slide sickly through his fingers.

_I'm in the gate…_his mind suddenly kicked in and his last moment before the little hands pulled him behind the doors flashed through his memory. Edward and Sloth's hopeless struggle to save him from the shadows and Winry's terrified expression haunted him.

_Why am I still here? _

That was a question that haunted Envy throughout his entire existence. Four hundred years without a purpose was enough to ware on someone and he had asked himself that question before with every passing year. He was a simple reflection of someone with a purpose who had died prematurely.

But here, the question held a different meaning. What was he doing in the gate? Was he supposed to wait for his death? Inevitable as it was, death was the high cost of living. He had said it himself. But was this it?

_If I am dead…then was I alive before? If I'm inside the gate, does that mean… I no longer have a soul?_

Envy's hands groped at the sour-smelling earth again. He would wait for death or whatever it was he was waiting for. He was still there, and so he would wait.

* * *

A year had passed.

It was a hot summer night in Risenbul. Winry stood in an open field surrounded by gravestones, and one in particular, which she knelt before. It was old, ancient. She remembered stumbling across it on their way out of the forgotten city below central one year ago.

'_William Elric: one and only cherished son…1522-1540…of mercury…' _the rest of the words were eroded and illegible.

This confirmed it for them. Winry knew Edward had not taken the news that Envy was technically his half brother well. He had had a fit over it. Alphonse had only chuckled at Edward, silently accepted the fate that had thrown the three of them together, allowing them to share the same four-hundred-year-old name.

Memories of their short time together flashed through Winry's mind as they always did when she stood there. She visited once a week, whenever she could. Though there was no body to bury, it was the only piece of Envy she had. It was the only evidence, besides that of her fading memory, threatening he existed at all.

Her eyes narrowed on the fine scratches bellow the marking on the stone. She remembered engraving the name 'ENVY' underneath 'WILLIAM'. One of her fine cutting tools had done a relatively clean job and Envy's name stood out clearer than William's.

_Of bullets and mercury…_Winry thought bitterly, _if I think about it. Envy and I were thrown together by death. The death of William allowed him to exist, and the death of my parents made me search for a greater meaning to my life. And that's how we found each other…rather morbid…but…I live without regret._

* * *

"Well, Al, what do you think?" Edward and Alphonse had been roaming a small village to the East for several hours and nothing had caught their attention. Or, better yet, no one had caught their attention. It was a deserted village from what they could see.

The fuehrer had sent this mission out to Mustang personally, but Mustang had other ideas and had passed it on to Fullmetal. Now, Ed and Al were wandering around scratching their heads.

"What do I think? I think it's a ghost town!" Alphonse replied, "Why did the Colonel send us here anyways?"

"Beats me, Al," Edward said, "Uh…I'm starving. There's nowhere around here to eat is there?"

"I think the closest place to a _working _restaurant is in Lior," Alphonse replied.

"I don't know, Al," Edward sighed, "Why would the Fuehrer send someone out here unless he wanted to confirm it was deserted? If that's the case, he could've wasted someone else's time."

"Unless it wasn't deserted last time he checked."

"Then, what happened?"

Alphonse stiffened. "Brother, look!"

There in the shadows of a small building sat a round, bald man. Edward and Alphonse recognized him immediately as Gluttony. The homunculus had not noticed their presence yet. He was sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth and muttering something inaudible. It almost sounded as though he were sobbing.

Edward and Alphonse shuffled out of the center of the main street to avoid being seen and hid behind a corner of a nearby building.

"What do we do now?" Alphonse asked, "Should we just leave him?"

"We can't do that, Al. I have a feeling he's the reason everyone in this town is missing," Edward said, darkly. Alphonse gasped quietly.

"He looks like he's crying…"

"I brought the things we need," Edward knelt down and produced a small sack from his jacket pocket. Since last year when Envy had given them the homunculi pieces they had carried them around for emergency use. Of course, they had managed to pick out the ones that belonged to Sloth, Pride and Gluttony and keep those with them at all times. Wrath, Lust and Greed's weaknesses remained at the house. There was no further use for them.

"Which one is his?" Alphonse asked, bending over to get a closer look at the small items in Edward's palm. Edward scratched his head.

"I didn't think that far ahead," he admitted sheepishly, "We'll just have to try them all."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Get him to eat it."

They peeked around the corner to find Gluttony hadn't moved from his spot on the ground. Edward snapped around to face Alphonse with a ready made plan in his head. "Okay, Al, let's go," he said.

They darted out of the ally and into the main street. Edward was sorely aware of the amount of sound Alphonse's armor made when he ran, but it couldn't be helped. He had the piece of bone ready in his hand when he approached Gluttony. The fat man still hadn't bothered to turn around and look at them. When they got closer they realized he didn't seem to be in the fighting mood.

"Lust…" he sniffed, "where's my…Lust?"

"Uh…Gluttony?" Edward started, awkwardly. It didn't feel right addressing his enemy so casually, but the scene just didn't sit right with him. Gluttony was supposed to be trying to eat him, not sitting on the ground moping quietly.

Gluttony either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.

"Lust…my Lust…"

Edward tried again. "Uh, Lust is gone, Gluttony. They're all gone."

Gluttony rolled to the side, stuck his thumb in his mouth and gurgled, "Lust…gone?"

There was a short silence. Edward couldn't tell what the fat cue ball was thinking, so he held his automail fist at the ready. Gluttony showed no sign that he wanted to fight them, but then again Gluttony was just as unpredictable as the rest of the homunculi.

Edward looked back at Alphonse to exchange a confused look.

A sound like rolling thunder rumbled through the deserted street the second he had turned his head.

"Brother! Look out!"

Edward was knocked to the side. He bounced back quickly to find Gluttony stumbling towards him with an angry expression. "You hurt my Lust!" he accused.

"No, it wasn't us!" Alphonse tried to explain, but Gluttony charged at Edward, mouth open.

It was now or never. Edward grabbed the little piece of bone in his pocket and threw it at Gluttony. His aim was right on target, and Gluttony stopped, choked and swallowed.

Then, he fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Now, Ed!" Alphonse had already drawn the famel for him with his alchemy. They dropped to the edge, hands first and delivered the final blow.

Blue light highlighted the lines in the transmutation circle and Gluttony wailed for Lust like an overgrown child for his mother.

Just when Edward and Alphonse thought it was over, the light started to fade with stains of crimson and melted red stones, something odd happened. The light faded to a deep red. Something was terribly wrong.

"Ed?" Ed heard Alphonse' terrified voice from across the circle and he was suddenly struck with the memory of that horrifying night when they tried to bring their mother back to life.

"Let go, Al!" Edward suddenly shouted. They both withdrew from the circle and out of the red rays that were growing stronger with every second. Gluttony was dead in the center, but his body hadn't faded away yet.

Alphonse met Edward halfway around the circles edge. "What's happening?" his voice was shaky, "I thought we did everything right."

"I don't know, but I didn't want to be linked to the transmutation if means another sacrifice."

Alphonse shivered at the thought.

Then, the light stopped. It disappeared, vanished, as if nothing had happened. Before Ed and Al had a moment to think it over, the gate appeared over the Gluttony's body.

"What the…?" Edward gasped.

"What's the gate doing here?" Alphonse worry was evident even in his metal expression.

* * *

In the darkness a ripping sound echoed through the emptiness. Ripping of some nondescript thing in the darkness, something Envy could not see or smell. It was the ripping that drove him from his own droned thoughts and caused him to focus on the _outside _space. He shook violently when he realized he had been close to fading, fading in with the rest of these immovable, lifeless bodies around him. If he hadn't have been disturbed, his mind would have swallowed his thoughts and senses and he would have elapsed into a simple object of indifference, waiting for something that would never come.

But the sound grew. It didn't pulse like the rest of noises and hums in the place, it grew louder, and it had no rhythm to it.

The ground beneath him stared to shudder. The movement was unnatural for an inanimate surface, and Envy found that it was this realization that allowed his mind to configure the difference between his body and the earthy ground. They were not of one, as his mind had fallen into believing after being void of movement for so long.

Envy found his body, every limb, every sense, every thought and separated them from the darkness. He looked, with his own eyes, around in the darkness. The movement itself was foreign to him, but he learnt quickly.

Then, something snapped. _He came back_. His memories, his wit, his morbid curiosity, his sadistic humor, it all came back to him, and he was Envy once more.

The gate.

He remembered.

He was in the gate.

And it was opening.

The silver light beyond the doors cracked thinly into the darkness, penetrating only deep enough for Envy to find the doors.

With movements unfamiliar to him, he stood and waded through the darkness, the nondescript forms, shadows, knocking him over with every step he took, but he regained balance and continued. The light guided him through to the doors. The moment his hand came in contact with the roughly designed surface, he pushed and pushed and pushed.

His strength was quickly fading, but the doors were slowly opening. Soon he would be free of the darkness.

Then, the doors sprung open. To Envy's amazement and surprise, he fell over the threshold, closed his eyes and landed face first in more dirt.

Something had passed him on his way out, the round man had looked oddly familiar, but it had been too long. Darkness was all he was familiar with now, at least he thought.

Envy shuddered at the cold, dry breeze that went through his hair and across his skin. So unfamiliar, and yet…

The feel of things, the cold, the dry, the…for crying out loud, the brightness! It felt so different and so familiar at the same time. Hell, the brightness! It was too damn bright! His eyes were still closed, but he saw red and orange and yellow through his lids. He wanted to bury his head in the earth he now lay on and hide from it all, but at the same time he wanted to discover or rediscover things he had long forgotten.

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking away salty water from his vision. There was color, so much of it. Darkness too, but it wasn't the same kind. It wasn't dense, it didn't pulse.

"E-envy?"

Sound? Wait, no…language. Envy…that had been his name. Then, the memories flooded back to him like a tsunami. He cringed at the overload.

"What the hell…?"

That voice.

Edward Elric.

That feeling…Anger? Jealousy? Love, perhaps?

Envy shifted. He didn't feel weak. He looked up towards the voice and saw the image of the blonde-haired boy from his memory, if not a little taller, standing beside that same suit of armor. Alphonse Elric? Yes, that was it.

When Envy moved he realized his body felt odd. He was naked. What did he used to do in this situation?

Just as his memory caught up with his thoughts, the all too familiar black attire appeared to cover him. He felt his hair change too, into long locks of spiky black-green hair.

"So it is you," Edward managed after seeing the blonde haired man before them, who oddly resembled their father, shift into his worst nightmare.

"Envy! Welcome back!" Alphonse said. Both Edward and Envy could hear the smile in his voice. Edward gave him a look. "Winry will be so happy to see you again! She's been…well, she hasn't really been the same since last year."

"Last year?" Envy winced. His voice was rough from disuse. It didn't suit him at all.

So, he'd been stuck in gate for only a year? It had seemed like an eternity. He had thought these twerps had actually managed to find a source for immortality. Of course, the latter wouldn't have made much sense to him after what Dante had tried to do.

Dante. Winry. It all came back.

"It doesn't seem like a year, though," Alphonse mumbled. It seemed to be more to himself than anyone else.

"You're taller," Envy shot at Ed. He was proud that even after a year of complete detachment he was still able to pick fun at the pipsqueak.

Unfortunately, Edward told his comment as a compliment. Envy was rather unimpressed.

"So, are you going to lie there on the ground, or do you want to come with us and see if Granny will let you take the couch?" Edward spat.

"How do you feel?" Alphonse asked, as Envy stood up and brushed the dirt off his body.

"Fine."

"Don't you need those stones?" Alphonse asked, curiously. Envy wondered the same thing. Strangely, he had no craving for the stones and he didn't feel weak without them.

"I…no, I don't."

Edward raised an eyebrow, but Envy snapped, "Are we going or not, pipsqueak?"

Envy almost patted himself on the shoulder that time. Edwards mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide in surprise. Envy figured since he was taller now, nobody had bothered to comment on his shortness in a while. Of course, that would have to be fixed. Envy would make sure, that as long as he was still alive, he would continue to do so.

* * *

Winry was on her way back from the cemetery when she noticed a bright flash of light cut through the night sky. It was coming from the direction of home. She smiled at the familiar memory. She figured she must have stayed out far too late to have Edward calling her home.

She made her way up the dirt path and spied towards the balcony where the light still pierced the darkness, on, off, on and off in that same rhythm. She couldn't really make out the details in the darkness yet, but color was obvious. Unless Edward had died his hair black again, she didn't know who was behind the lamp.

A couple more steps of squinting, and… she dropped her handbag. It couldn't be. Lips barely parted for a whisper, "Envy…?"

There was no mistaking that grin, and those mischievous eyes. The night seemed to swallow up the rest of the details of her surroundings until there was only him and the flashing light upon the balcony. It was unmistakable, and in the back of her mind somewhere she wondered what Edward and Alphonse had done.

Envy…Winry smiled and couldn't help but wave frantically, tears streamed down her face…he was finally back.

The lamplight flashed one last time, and Winry noticed Envy smirking down at her from the balcony. They were too far apart for words, but no language in the word could have made that moment any more memorable for them both.

* * *

_**Please review. **_


End file.
